Hedge fund tycoon Chris Hohn sees his pay slashed by half… but still takes home £275m
Billionaire hedge fund boss Chris Hohn's annual dividend has been halved, but he still took home £275 million.
The tycoon, who runs TCI Fund Management and once employed Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as an analyst, paid himself a record £550m in the year to February 2022.
But his wages for the following year halved as profits fell from £696m to £363m, accounts filed with the company show.
Nevertheless, his huge earnings, with his fortune estimated at £5 billion by the Sunday Times Rich List, underline his status as a top investor.
Hohn, 57, is one of Britain's biggest philanthropists, donating millions of pounds a year. He was knighted by the Queen in 2014 for his services to charity and international development.
Pay cut: Billionaire hedge fund boss Chris Hohn runs TCI Fund Management and once employed Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as an analyst
The accounts show that revenues at TCI fell 41 percent to £557.5 million last year due to 'a decline in management fees and performance fees'.
Fees fell “due to the negative investment performance of the funds to which the firm provides investment management services.”
The annual accounts state: 'Directors are aware of the challenging conditions in the financial markets, but remain optimistic about future profitability.'
This year's dividend was transferred to another company controlled by Hohn before being reinvested in a fund.
The reclusive hedge fund manager from Surrey is the son of a Jamaican-born car mechanic who moved to Britain in the 1960s and a secretary from Sussex.
He graduated with a first in accounting and business economics from the University of Southampton and subsequently obtained an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Before founding TCI in 2003, he worked for private equity group Apax Partners and Wall Street hedge fund Perry Capital.
TCI's ultimate parent company is based in the Cayman Islands, a tax haven.
TCI donated £66.8m to charities in the year to the end of February, up from £20m the year before.
It donated £41.3 million to Hohn's CH Foundation and £20.7 million to its other charity The Children's Investment Fund Foundation, an increase of £1.2 million.
In 2019 it emerged that he donated £200,000 to Extinction Rebellion through his charity and his own wealth, saying there was an 'urgent need' for people to raise awareness of climate change.