Boris Johnson will become a multimillionaire once he eventually leaves Britain’s prime ministerial office, with an anticipated deluge of lucrative deals.
The leader’s government salary of £164,000 will appear paltry in comparison to the money he will earn by making speeches, writing his memoirs, for talk-show appearances and as a newspaper columnist.
There is even discussion that major US television networks and streaming services such as Netflix could offer him substantial contracts.
Every British prime minister since Sir John Major has made millions after leaving office but Mr Johnson could well exceed Tony Blair’s net worth that is approaching £100 million.
It is not only the prime minister’s sense of humour and easy charm that will attract him to the highest bidders, but also the credibility of someone with dozens of world leaders in his contacts’ book and a wide knowledge of world events. A bidding war will likely commence in earnest for the publishing rights to his memoirs that will cover his three turbulent years in office.
That will certainly be in excess of the £800,000 former prime minister David Cameron received. It will probably be in the millions but not as high as the $65 million former US president Barack Obama was paid for a two-book deal, although publishers will welcome Mr Johnson’s absorbing literary style.
That writing ability will also see him offered an attractive salary as a newspaper columnist that could well exceed the £275,000 he received for his weekly piece in The Daily Telegraph.
But it is his ability to enchant audiences with his engaging orations — with off-the-cuff quips and deep knowledge of the English language — that will provide him with an enduring stipend on the speech circuit.
He will rapidly exceed the £2.3m his predecessor Theresa May has made in speeches since leaving office in 2019.
The speaking circuit earned Mr Johnson £450,000 in the year before becoming prime minister and his fee will have since increased significantly. Bankers, hedge-fund managers and leading companies will pay in excess of £150,000 for a single speech for the instantly recognisable figure.
The wealth generated will provide a welcome soft landing from the swift loss of office and power over a tumultuous past week in British politics.
It will also be welcome for the Johnson family when his wife Carrie and their two young children leave Number 10 once the leadership election has been settled.
The couple already have a £1.2m town house in Camberwell, south London and Mr Johnson has a four-bedroom home near Henley in Oxfordshire, but a more substantial property could be needed.
His future salary will prove the envy of fellow MPs earning £84,000 a year — that is if Mr Johnson decides to remain on the back benches as the member for Uxbridge and South Ruislip.
But the healthy bank account will not quite match the immense power that he has enjoyed, leading some observers to suggest that Mr Johnson may well build a treasure trove big enough to launch a political comeback.
