June 2023 - Bay of Plenty Business News

4 BAY OF PLENTY BUSINESS NEWS June 2023
THE PORTER REPORT
A monthly update on the business
world from leading writer David Porter
www.bopbusinessnews.co.nz
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Appalling or enthralling?
I
observed a large portion of
the British royal mania that
preoccupied most media earlier
this year. I have seldom
been exposed to quite as much
vapid repetition over so many
days.
I expected that the British
Broadcasting Corporation
(BBC) – whose work I generally
respect – would be obliged
to devote a large amount of
coverage first to Queen Elizabeth’s
funeral, and then King
Charles’ official assumption of
the head job.
Charles, of course, automatically
became King on the
Queen’s death, so the procession
of his golden coach and
many of the Anglican pieties
surrounding his coronation,
were rather redundant to the
global audience other than for
tourist/informational purposes.
Apparently, the funeral cost the
country around £162 million
and the coronation between
£50-100 million. By way of
a return, tourism monarchy
returns are estimated by Brand
Finance, in a “normal” year at
around £2.5 billion. So we can
assume returns were higher
during these special events.
What I wasn’t quite prepared
for was the remarkable amount
of air and print time devoted by
other media around the world to
these events, especially in the
US. The funeral perhaps – but
Charles’ coronation? It would
seem that, despite parting from
the United kingdom long ago,
the US still can’t resist a bit of
pomp and ceremony.
To be clear, I have nothing
against Charles. Indeed as a
young reporter, I even spent a
fortnight trailing around New
Zealand reporting on him and
the late Diana after they visited
Australia. He was an interesting
speaker and personally affable,
and his then wife was publicly
charming, and was just finding
and relishing her media role on
her first overseas tour.
The royal press rat pack that
travelled with him from the
UK was a revelation to a junior
journalist, extremely experienced
and very funny.
Sadly, since assuming the
throne, Charles appears likely
to be obliged to talk far less
about those issues around climate
change he presciently
made his own. More to the
point perhaps, latest polling
suggests he is not exactly the
most popular person to assume
the throne, especially amongst
the younger generations.
However, there remain one
or two issues that just won’t
go away. Yes, the monarchy is
a great tourist attraction for the
UK, as well as the late Queen
having provided a figure of stability
and British reassurance
for many decades.
According to Brand
Finance, while the average
annual cost for UK taxpayers in
royal upkeep comes to around
David Porter
£500 million a year, the monarchy’s
brand contributes £2.5
billion to British economy in
the same timeframe.
More distastefully – but
increasingly coming into prominence
– is the Royal Family’s
wealth, and more significantly,
its source, a good portion
of which was reaped from
exploiting its empire. Charles
denounced the “atrocity of slavery”
during a recent speech in
Barbados when the island held
a ceremony to swear in their
first president after removing
the Queen as head of state.
The Queen was head of state
for as many as 32 countries
during her reign; by the time of
her death just 14, other than the
UK, remained. Charles’ accession
provides an opportunity
for many of his Commonwealth
subjects to wonder if the time
is right to install a less-remote
head of state.
Taking into account that the
exact sources of royal wealth
tend to be kept quiet and the
figures are not easy to track,
according to an Investopedia
estimate:
• Queen Elizabeth II had a
separate personal fortune
of £380.7 million, inherited
by Charles. According
to Forbes this inheritance
has made his net worth over
£1.8 billion.
• Additionally, The Crown
Estate, which manages the
monarchy’s property holdings,
is valued at about
£15.6 billion and generated
an estimated £312.7
million in net revenue at
the end of the 2022 fiscal
year. It is understood many
of the receipts for this go
to the government and are
returned in the form of royal
salaries.
• The royal family’s overall
wealth is estimated at £21.3
billion, according to Forbes.
That is separate from Queen
Elizabeth’s personal fortune
and assets. (Let’s not forget
those jewels, the royal collection,
etc).
Again, to stress, I’ve got
nothing against Charles or his
current wife. I lived in London
for several years and greatly
enjoyed it. I admire Charles’
efforts to slim down the royal
presence on the balcony, and to
despatch brother Andrew to the
sidelines. But doesn’t it all feel
a bit redundant now for the UK
and its former colonies?
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