Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s right-hand man James Holt hit the headlines today after it was announced he had been given a £133,000 bonus. But who is he?
James Holt is the executive director of the couple’s Archewell Foundation and started at the company on a yearly wage of £47,641. However, that has now risen to an annual salary of £277,405 following the bumper bonus.
Who is he?
Holt’s Twitter page describes him as “a Brit based in LA”, an “occasional runner” and an “occasional volunteer”.
He heads up the couple’s not-for-profit organisation, Archewell, where he started working about three years ago.
The charity boss graduated from the University of Lincoln and has previously worked in other positions around the Royal Family, including as head of communications for both the Cambridges and the Sussexes during his time at the Royal Foundation.
He has also spent time working for other charities including Inspiring Girls International and the African Prisons Project.
Holt has also worked in politics, serving in several roles for the Liberal Democrats between 2009 and 2016, including as head of communications for the then-deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg.
He made the news in August this year after appearing in an Invictus “group therapy” session in the Sussexes Netflix documentary.
What does he do?
The Archewell Foundation he heads up, which is based in Beverly Hills, carries out a range of the Sussexes’ philanthropic activities.
It has overseen the funding of Community Relief Centres which will be set up in Dominica, Puerto Rico, and Mumbai, India, with a third location not announced.
Other work has seen the company collaborate with the Loveland Foundation, which provides mental health resources to black women, and the Center for Humane Technology, which promotes ethical technology use.
The foundation recorded losses of £536,357 due to a shortfall in donations this year, while last year they secured a profit of more than £7.1m, which has led to raised eyebrows about Holt’s salary increase.
How has he reached his jumbo salary?
Holt started on a salary of £47,641 ($59,846), according to the 2021 Archewell accounts. But in 2022 his earnings shot up to £181,030 ($227,405) – a massive £133,389 ($167,559) increase in just a year.
Mr Holt was also awarded a £16k ($20k) bonus on top of his six-figure salary despite the Foundation recording losses this year.
The latest report shows that the organisation awarded Mr Holt the bonus on top of his annual pay of £277,405, stating the extra money is the “estimated amount of other compensation from the organisation and related organisations”.
