George Osborne in line to make thousands by joining after-dinner speaker circuit days after ruthless removal as Chancellor
Former minister, who was sacked from the Cabinet, has reportedly joined All American Speakers agency
GEORGE Osborne will be able to console himself with having lost his position as Chancellor with thousands of pounds after joining the after-dinner speaker circuit.
The former minister, who was ruthlessly removed from Cabinet by Theresa May last week, has reportedly joined the All American Speakers agency.
The biggest casualty of last week’s reshuffle, he was sent to the backbenches with his salary stripped back from 134,500 a year to £74,962 overnight.
But the whopping fees commanded by the top speakers will help to ease the change in financial circumstances.
His name has just popped up on the roster of luminaries at the prestigious agency, where fellow speakers like Google CEO Larry Page, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, American Vogue editor Anna Wintour and actor Stephen Fry all command top fees of at least $100,000 – around £76,000.
But the agency says it has still to determine the Tory MP’s fee.
Speaking to the , Sydney Marshall, account co-ordinator for All American Speakers, said: “He is not listed [at a set price], as it is done on a case-by-case basis.
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Perhaps the former Chancellor shouldn’t hold out too much hope for the big bucks just yet, after being asked about interest levels in the 45-year-old, she said: “This is the first time I’ve received an inquiry.”
He is used to giving after-dinner speeches already though, and is a regular at the CBI and events in the city, and won plaudits from journalists for cracking jokes at a recent speech in Parliament.
Speaking at the Westminster Correspondents’ Dinner back in April he made a string of gags, including at his own expense.
Joking about his diet he said: “Chancellors have always had a difficult relationship with food.
“Nigel Lawson published his own diet book. Gordon Brown binged on Kit Kats.
"I can reveal tonight I have my own nutrition plan.
"It’s called the 5:2. After 2 out of every 5 Budgets I eat some of my own words.
“And recently I got to sample a dish which neither Matt Hancock nor I even knew existed – humble pie.”
Commanding a personal fortune of several million and the son of Sir Peter Osborne, co-founder of the extremely successful wallpaper and fabrics company Osborne & Little, he seems unlikely to struggle since his demotion.