Charles, in addition to being the King of England, is also in some sense a “landowner” of the formerly second richest man in the world, Elon Musk, and, apparently, he is quite disappointed with him.
In particular, the Crown Estate, an independent commercial company that manages properties owned by Charles III, has sued Elon Musk’s Twitter account for non-payment of rent in London.
Last week, the Crown Estate filed a lawsuit against Twitter in the High Court of London. According to the BBC, Musk’s alleged non-payment of rent concerns an office building near Piccadilly Circus in central London.
According to the Guardian, the Crown Estate has confirmed that the lawsuit is related to back rent at Twitter’s London offices.
He owes rent from London to… America
Other sources, including The New York Times, said Twitter has not paid the rent of its San Francisco headquarters for several weeks to cut costs. The tenant of the Twitter office in San Francisco also sued.
In addition, Twitter employees in Singapore were temporarily kicked out of the company’s offices for the same reason, until Musk finally paid off his debt.
On the other hand, the British Royal Family is one of the largest landowners in the United Kingdom.
The portfolio managed by the Crown Estate includes properties worth over $19 billion. These sites include Regent Street, London’s main shopping street, Ascot Racecourse (a favorite of the Queen) and almost all of the United Kingdom’s seabed.
The Crown Estate’s entire net profit of $361 million for fiscal year 2021 goes to the UK Treasury. However, the royal family also gets a share.
Specifically, the monarch receives 15% of the profits from the development of royal property, an allowance known as the Sovereign Grant, given for his royal duties.
In 2022, the Sovereign Grant was $99.6 million based on the Crown Estate’s fiscal year 2019–2020 net income.
For this reason, Charles is not exactly your typical Twitter office owner.
Finally, Charles instructed the Crown Estate last week that profits from about $1.2 billion a year in leases for six offshore wind farms be used for the “public good” and not be added to the Sovereign Grant.
Source: El Pais
Source: Kathimerini
Anna White is a journalist at 247 News Reel, where she writes on world news and current events. She is known for her insightful analysis and compelling storytelling. Anna’s articles have been widely read and shared, earning her a reputation as a talented and respected journalist. She delivers in-depth and accurate understanding of the world’s most pressing issues.