Jeremy Hunt's huge net worth - Chancellor salary, luxury homes and TV cash row
Jeremy Hunt, dubbed as the 'richest man in the Cabinet', is today outlining the country's finances in his Spring Budget.
Millions of households are set to be affected by some big changes as part of his 'plan for growth'. The Chancellor said he wants to move towards a "lower tax economy" in a hint at a pre-election giveaway to voters. Speculators estimate Mr Hunt could seek to cut a couple of pence off income tax or national insurance to ease the burden on workers.
But what do his own finances look like? The Mirror takes a look at the home life and impressive property portfolio of the multimillionaire.
Jeremy and Lucia have an 11-year age-gap (Getty)Jeremy Hunt grew up in Surrey and attended the Charterhouse school in Godalming, a public school which currently charges £36,540 per year for non-boarding students. After leaving school he went on to study at Oxford University and graduated with a first class honours degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics.
Following his graduation from Oxford he worked for a management consultancy company before leaving to teach English in Japan for two years. Before becoming a Conservative MP for South West Surrey in 2005, he set up an online education business, which later turned then 40-year-old Mr Hunt into a multi-millionaire.
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It was during one of his Hotcourses events in 2008 that Mr Hunt met Lucia Gao in Warwick. Lucia, who was born in Xi'an, China, was working at Warick University at the time, where she helped recruit Chinese students.
It is not clear what Lucia's occupation is now, but she regularly appeared on Sky TV's China Hour and presented her own show called Signature Flowers Of China. Lucia is also mum to their three children - 13-year-old son Jack was born in 2010 followed by daughters Anna, 11, and Eleanor, 9. They try to keep them out of the spotlight but they have been pictured on occasion.
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Mr Hunt made a fortune when he sold his business (Jeff Overs/BBC via Getty Images)The married couple have a family home in Jeremy's constituency of Hambledon, in South West Surrey, and his personal website says he splits his time between the property and Westminster.
But after moving into No 11 Downing Street, the children are reportedly friendly with the Prime Minister's children next door. "The children have already started regular playdates with Rishi [Sunak]’s children, as they're just next door," Mr Hunt said, according to the Mail.
Together, Lucia and Jeremy run a real estate business called Mare Pond Properties Ltd and according to The Evening Standard, they have a £1.7m townhouse in Pimlico, South London. As part of their property portfolio, the couple also share seven flats in the waterside Ocean Village development in Southampton, worth a reputed £3.5million.
Mr Hunt's net worth is not known exactly, but it is reportedly in excess of £15m. Hotcourses, his educational listings company founded in 1991, was sold to an Australian firm in 2017, where he netted £14.5m. However when he set up the buy-to-let firm Mare Pond in 2018, a spokesperson said at the time: "Jeremy and his wife set up the company as a vehicle through which to make charitable donations and no salaries or dividends will be taken from it for their personal benefit."
Meanwhile, having been an MP for South West Surrey since 2005, he has earned a yearly salary of £86,584. As Chancellor, he has an additional wage on top, an entitled salary of £71,673 and a claimed salary of £67,505, meaning he brings home roughly £150,000 per year.
And according to his Registered Interests, Mr Hunt has shares held in a blind trust, as well as a half-share of a holiday house in Italy and a half-share of an office building in London. He appeared to defend his incredible wealth during Radio 2's Jeremy Vine show in 2019, when the host described him as the "richest man in Cabinet" during a discussion about his business past.
Mr Vine said: "I gather you're the richest member of the Cabinet." Mr Hunt slightly lost his cool after what seemed to be a fairly benign statement. He replied: "Hang on. My salary while I was was running my business was a lot lower than your salary now."
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Showing deft awareness of his own CV Mr Vine replied: "But I am not in Cabinet". But Mr Hunt wasn't giving up, urging the radio host not to get into "the politics of envy." Jeremy was appointed as Chancellor on October 14, 2022, after Kwasi Kwarteng was sacked from the role. Mr Hunt has remained in this role ever since, despite the resignation of Liz Truss in October 2022.
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