Will Nigel Farage’s finances end his ambition of becoming PM?
Nigel Farage’s finances are once again under scrutiny, after his earnings were revealed for work outside of politics, and that he had only declared two of five homes to Parliament. How much longer can he play the role of a man of the people?
Listen to this article
What’s the story?
A gift of £5 million from a crypto billionaire. £270,000 for advertising gold bars. £80,000 for making Cameo videos. £18,000 for his job as a presenter on GB News.
When Nigel Farage said "there’s no money in politics" shortly before his election in 2024, he was almost accurate, (he's earning a paltry £98,599 from his job as a member of parliament) but there sure is a lot for an MP to make from other sources if the price is right.
The finances of the Reform UK frontman continue to drag him, and his party, through the mud, with a Parliamentary Standards inquiry currently ongoing into the £5m gift, which could result in a recall election in his Clacton constituency.
The 'man of the people' is also facing new scrutiny after it was revealed that only two of his five homes – worth at least £4m – had been declared to Parliament.
"He's raking it in for an MP. He is loaded," says Lewis Goodall.
"This would be quite unusual for any MP, even a backbench MP.
"But it is obviously particularly unusual for a party leader who says he's most likely of any of the party leaders to become Prime Minister."
The company sells precious metals, and official Companies House documents reveal it has net assets of around £2.6 million – which means about a quarter of that has been paid to Farage.
All his extra earnings are, however, fully compliant with parliamentary rules, and have all been fully disclosed. Only the £5m crypto gift went unaccounted for.
"Nice work if you can get it," Lewis adds.
How does Nigel Farage match his image with solid gold bars?
Farage has positioned himself as an alternative to the political machine, as a man who understands the lives and frustrations of people across the UK.
But how does that work when he's raking in hundreds of thousands of pounds a year and owns numerous properties worth millions.
"This is a man who has always tried to claim he was for the people who had hard times, had shit lives and had been ignored by the big parties," says Emily Maitlis.
"He's raking it in from gold bullion, whilst he's also talking about getting rid of workers' rights, getting rid of the minimum wage, getting rid of the protection for people in their employment."
The difference between the man he portrays to voters, and the wealthy man he truly is was evident during recent "uncomfortable" news interviews in which he was grilled over the £5m crypto donation.
In one interview, his short, sharp response was simply: 'No one cares."
What if this had been another party leader?
When Keir Starmer was revealed to have received clothing donations worth thousands of pounds from a Labour peer, it was a talking point for days.
There has been far less outrage over Farage's finances.
"Imagine if Keir Starmer had said the same thing," says Lewis.
"The accusation, rightly, of complete arrogance and impropriety, would have been across the front page of every single newspaper in this country.
He believes Farage is paying a penalty for his actions, but not one that is "proportionate" to the deed.
"You cannot say that if you are hoping to become Prime Minister of this country," Lewis adds.
"If you're choosing to be, not just in the public arena, but setting yourself up as the next prime minister, you can't tell us all just to f**k off and not pay any attention."
There's no surprise where Farage learned his tactics from...
Anything Nigel Farage can do, Donald Trump has probably already done bigger, and better.
This week it was revealed the US president has made more than $2 million a day from crypto investments, from firms run by his family, since returning to the White House in 2025.
"You don't choose to endorse gold bullion or crypto by accident, so this keeps telling me that he is copying the Trump model," says Maitlis.
"Trump is still his role model. If Trump's going to make money on crypto, if Trump's going to get gold bars whenever he goes to the UAE, then he’s thinking, ‘It's really working for him. Why can't I do it?"
This, she says, simply doesn't work in the UK – and leaves a "nasty taste" in the mouths of voters.
"People, particularly in crunch circumstances, where we are talking about the cost of living every single day, look up and ask, why would he be throwing that in our faces?"