Nick Clegg has made nearly $19m (£15.3m) from the sale of shares in Meta since he joined the proprietor of Fb, Instagram and WhatsApp six years in the past.
The previous British deputy prime minister introduced on Thursday he was leaving his function as president of world affairs and communications.
Clegg, who was knighted in 2018 for political and public service, has offered $18.4m value of shares in Meta since he joined the corporate.
His complete pay at Meta has not been disclosed however he nonetheless holds nearly 39,000 of the corporate’s shares, value about $21m at their present worth.
The previous chief of the Liberal Democrats was closely criticised for taking a task as Fb’s vice‑president for world affairs and communications in 2018. On the time he was a number one supporter of the Folks’s Vote marketing campaign and a part of a high-powered pro-remain group of former politicians lobbying to cease Brexit.
Explaining the explanation for his abrupt exit from the battle, Clegg stated that, as soon as he had signed as much as be a part of the Silicon Valley firm and determined to relocate to the US, he would possibly as effectively go away as quickly as doable.
“I’ve blended emotions about leaving the UK’s public debate about the way forward for our nation’s relations with the remainder of Europe,” he stated, writing for the Guardian.
“The Brexit drama will quickly transfer to – and probably culminate in – the place the place it arguably belonged all alongside, in parliament. I’ll not search to play a public function in that debate. As soon as I had determined to just accept a brand new function in Fb, there was little advantage in delaying my transfer any longer.”
Nonetheless, his resolution to just accept the high-profile function, at a time when the corporate was struggling to deal with mounting political stress over points together with pretend information, knowledge safety and authorities regulation, has proved to be massively profitable.
Filings on the US Securities and Alternate Fee (SEC) confirmed that Clegg’s most up-to-date sale of shares was in November at a market worth of simply over $4m, though the precise gross proceeds of the most recent transaction have but to be made public.
He was promoted to president of world affairs at Meta in 2022 – reporting on to the founder and chief government, Mark Zuckerberg. Clegg partly relocated to London that yr, splitting time between the UK and California. He might be changed by his deputy, Joel Kaplan.
Kaplan, who beforehand served because the deputy chief of workers for coverage below the previous president George W Bush, is thought to be essentially the most distinguished conservative voice on the firm. He rose to the highest ranks at a time when Fb confronted claims of liberal bias.
Clegg stated in a put up on Fb on Thursday: “It actually has been an journey of a lifetime! I’m happy with the work I’ve been capable of do main and supporting groups throughout the corporate to make sure innovation can go hand in hand with elevated transparency and accountability, and with new types of governance.”
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Hypothesis is rife about what the 57-year-old could do subsequent, and whether or not he could countenance a return to politics.
The Lib Dems received a file variety of seats for the get together on the basic election final yr.
Clegg managed to get the Lib Dems into energy via a coalition with David Cameron’s Conservatives in 2010 however resigned as chief 5 years later after taking the blame for his get together’s 2015 election defeat, which he described as “immeasurably extra crushing and unkind” than he had feared.
He misplaced his seat within the 2017 basic election and subsequently stated that he “by no means had any need to sit down in an unreformed Home of Lords”.
Meta has been approached for remark.
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