- guardian.co.uk,
- Thursday January 10 2008
The US investment bank JP Morgan has signed up Tony Blair as a part-time senior adviser, on a salary said to exceed $1m (£500,000) a year.
The former prime minister would provide "strategic advice and insight on global political issues and emerging trends", the company said last night.
Blair, whose contacts book could prove very valuable in the private sector, has indicated this could be just the first in a series of private-sector roles. "I have always been interested in commerce and the impact of globalisation. Nowadays, the intersection between politics and the economy in different parts of the world, including the emerging markets, is very strong," he told the Financial Times.
Since leaving Downing Street last June, Blair has acted as an envoy to the Middle East. He has also joined the lucrative international speaking circuit – reportedly receiving $500,000 for one speech in China.
He also has a multi-million pound deal with Random House to publish his memoirs.
JP Morgan has been damaged by the US sub-prime crisis – caused by mortgages being given to people who could not pay them off. Blair himself has to service a large mortgage on a town house in Connaught Square in London, bought for £3.65m in 2004.
In moving from No 10 to the financial sector, Blair is following the example of his predecessor, John Major, who joined the private equity firm Carlyle Group in 1998.
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