Top Gear star Jeremy Clarkson has landed himself a reported £5m bumper payday by selling his production company stake to the BBC
The windfall steps the wealth of the television presenter and journalist up another hefty notch – not bad for a man who has previously declared he is not a fan of money.
Clarkson, 52, told a BBC interviewer in 2009: 'I'm literally not the slightest bit interested in money. I just don't pay any attention to money, it's rather vulgar.'
The BBC has bought out the stakes owned by Clarkson and the show’s executive producer Andy Wilman in firm Bedder 6, which the pair set up five years ago to cash in on the Top Gear brand.
To many Clarkson's reward will be considered richly deserved thanks to his pulling power and hard work in building up the Top Gear brand.
As a joint shareholder in Bedder 6, the BBC has gold on Top Gear merchandise, show tours, DVDs and international sales rights.
Clarkson and Wilman, who have known each other since their school days, owned half the firm, 30 per cent 20 per cent each, respectively, while BBC Worldwide owned the other half.
Now the pair have given the BBC full control. It is understood the total deal for both men is worth around £8million. The money will come from the commercial division BBC Worldwide.
Clarkson has worked his way into the position of being one of the best paid stars on British television and is believed to be paid a £500,000 talent fee by the BBC.
Bedder 6 generated sales of £40.6 million, up from £32.9 million - a rise of 23 per cent - according to Companies House statements which cover the year to March 31, 2011. It meant the company made a gross profit of almost £18 million compared to just under £13 million the previous year.
Clarkson earned a £1.8m dividend and £350,000 payment for services from Bedder 6 to add to his BBC salary.
Figures calculated from a BBC report this summer suggest the dividend payout will have risen again over the past year to £2.7m, added to his other payments this would take his Top Gear earnings potentially as high as £3.5m
He recently signed a new deal with the BBC to present Top Gear for another three years. His fellow presenters Richard Hammond and James May also inked new deals.
A BBC Worldwide spokesman said: ‘BBC Worldwide has agreed new commercial deals with Jeremy, James, Richard and Andy to secure Top Gear’s international future for another three years.
'This agreement secures the commercial future of Top Gear without using a penny of licence fee money and allows us to continue to grow the brand around the world and return profits to the BBC.’
The BBC is not saying publicly how much it has paid for the Bedder 6 buy-out, but insiders say it is below £10 million.
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Jeremy Clarkson's wealth has been generated largely thanks to his role as the ringleader on Top Gear, the massively successful BBC Two cars show, broadcast in 100 countries around the world and watched by 350m.
He first appeared on the show in 1988, but his real earnings potential came after its relaunch in 2002. That turned what had mainly been a motoring magazine show into a big budget entertainment staple, mixing cars, adventure travel, stunts and the often controversial views of its trio of presenters - Clarkson, Hammond and May.
Clarkson is paid a reported £500,000 by the BBC topped up by another £350,000 from Bedder 6 for Top Gear.
Documents filed at Companies House showed that in the year to 31 March 2011, Clarkson received nearly £1.8million in dividends from Bedder 6 and £350,000 in 'payment for services'.
The company generated sales of £40.6 million, up from £32.9 million - a rise of 23 per cent - according to the statements which cover the year to March 31, 2011.
It meant the company made a gross profit of almost £18 million compared to just under £13 million the previous year. The dividend payout rose from £1.6million to £5.9million - a 268 per cent increase.
The company was optimistic about continued growth, stating: 'Future results will include contribution from the next seasons of the U.S. and Australian versions of the Top Gear programme, which have been recommissioned by the History Channel and Channel Nine respectively.'
That growth is expected to have sent his earnings even higher for the past year, for which figures have not yet been published. Figures calculated in July suggested his dividend payout was now £2.7m.
His earnings are further fuelled by books, DVDs and columns for newspapers and magazines. He is a weekly columnist for the Sunday Times and has become a prolific book writer, mainly of best-selling collections of his columns. Figures showed his books series sold 4.9m copies between 2000-2009.
Star in a reasonably expensive carClarkson's success has enabled him to indulge his passion and rack up an impressive stable of motors.
Clarkson is reported to own, or have owned a wide range of vehicles.
These stretch from supercars such as a Lamborghini Gallardo, Mercedes SLS, Ford GT and Ferrari 355, to more affordable choices, including a Volkswagen Scirocco, Volvo XC90 and the car he singles out for praise more often than most a Range Rover.
He has also appeared in shows such as Have I Got News for You, Who Do You Think You Are?, Grumpy Old Men and Room 101 (when he famously dispatched caravans down the rubbish chute) and has presented several military and engineering-related programmes.
Forthright views and a comic touch mean he is also in demand on the after dinner speaker circuit, where he can command at least £20,000 a time.
Clarkson, began his career as a local newspaper reporter before moving on to his first love of reviewing cars.
Clarkson has inherited some of his business nous from his mother Shirley who created the first ever Paddington Bear soft toy as a Christmas gift for her kids, and then won the UK licence to produce it commercially in 1972.
Clarkson's parents sent him to Repton, a public school in Derbyshire, where Bedder 6 partner Wilman was two years above him.
In an interview with AutoTrader magazine she said she often thought that if it weren't for Paddington Bear, Jeremy would not have had all the chances in life that he has enjoyed.
A Cotswold home, has led to Clarkson becoming a member of what has been dubbed the Chipping Norton set.
A broad socialising collection of media, arts and businesses figures, which ranges from Prime Minister David Cameron, to former News International chief executive and editor of the Sun Rebekah Brooks, Blur bassist Alex James and Rupert Murdoch’s daughter Elisabeth and her husband PR chief Matthew Freud.
Clarkson also owns a £1.2m lighthouse holiday home in an Isle of Man beauty spot, set in about 40 acres of coastland.
Clarkson's money matters haven't always run smoothly though. He was among thousands of wealthy investors who saw their cash piles eroded in 2008 when their investment in a fund with AIG plummeted in value when the insurer got into difficulties.
Shortly afterwards, he revealed being a victim in his newspaper column saying: Jeremy Clarkson was also a victim. In a newspaper column, he said: 'Inwardly I was screaming. It's my money. I gave it to you. You've squandered it on a Mexican's house in San Diego and a stupid football team and that's your problem. Not mine.'
He also famously made his bank details public believing wrongly that they could not be used to commit a fraud. Someone duly set up a direct debit on his account for £500 - and uncharacteristically Clarkson was forced to eat his words.
