Jeremy Clarkson is a broadcaster, journalist and writer who is best known for specialising in motoring and fronting the popular BBC show Top Gear. The 60-year-old star has now made the switch to ITV and hosts the revived gameshow, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? replacing the programme’s original presenter Chris Tarrant. But how much has Jeremy himself made over the years compared to his lucky contestants?
The motoring enthusiast has been on screens since the early nineties, and has tried his hand at everything from presenting to writing books.
He is also well known for his strong political opinions and dry humour – and has been very outspoken about money in the past.
Clarkson has worked with the BBC, ITV and Amazon during his long career, and even had his own talk show in the late nineties.
As well as hosting The Grand Tour alongside Richard Hammond and James May, he has weekly columns for The Sunday Times and The Sun.
READ MORE: Dan Walker net worth: The BBC Breakfast host’s huge fortune revealed
In 2019, talking about the seven-figure salaries that were made public, he was quoted in The Times as saying: “When you look at all those BBC salaries that are published, you think, ‘You get that for an hour’s work.’
“No, you don’t. You get that for your entire life being taken over by, ‘Selfie! Selfie! Photo! Photo! Photo!’ Somebody has to pay for that.
“And I’m afraid, in this case, it’s Tampax and Asda,” he said, referring to some of ITV’s advertisers.
It’s reported that his salary was set to jump up to £10million for The Grand Tour in 2016, after he was axed from Top Gear.
According to The Guardian, he also received a £4.8million dividend and an £8.4million share buyout from BBC Worldwide in 2014, bringing his estimated income for the year to more than £14million.
However, his move to Amazon with his co-presenters was clearly a good move, with reports by The Daily Mirror revealing that Amazon paid £160million for three series of The Grand Tour.
A true petrolhead, Clarkson has spent plenty of his huge salary on cars over the years, owning at least 25 in his lifetime, though it’s unknown how many he currently has at home.
The star has previously said that the Lexus LFA is the best car he has ever driven, though he’s also owned BMWs, Lamborghinis and Ferraris.
Clarkson has been divorced twice, and has three children from his first marriage.
The knowledgeable journalist now has a part to play in the new format for the revamped Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? show.
While there used to be just three lifelines – ask the audience, phone a friend or 50:50, Clarkson is now the fourth lifeline.
Contestants can now also “ask the host” for help with one of their questions, with Clarkson often telling short anecdotes of how he knows certain facts in the show.