Good Week/Bad Week | CEO Banker Alison Rose, The Kardashians and The Beckhams
Transcript
00:00 [Music]
00:15 Hello, welcome to NationalWorld.com's discussion about who's had a good week and who's had a bad week.
00:22 I'm Nancy Fielder, Editor-in-Chief of NationalWorld.com.
00:26 Hi, I'm Marina Lischt, Associate Editor of NationalWorld.com.
00:29 So, one of the big things that we like to keep an eye on at NationalWorld.com is people who are paid an awful lot of money,
00:36 and there are a lot of people who pay a lot of money but don't necessarily do a good job.
00:41 And I think, whether we would say it's a good week or a bad week, I think we need to start with former NatWest boss Alison Rose.
00:50 Now, everybody remember the controversy, Nigel Farage stirred up a massive hole in his nest
00:56 when it turned out that he had not been allowed to have his bank account with them.
01:01 And there were all sorts of, well, there was lots of mudslinging, wasn't there, Marina?
01:06 But it turns out she's in line for a massive payout, when arguably you could say this is a classic example of somebody who's done their job really badly,
01:14 and yet they're still about to be handed millions.
01:18 Yeah, so we're debating, obviously, it sounds like it's going to be a good week for Alison Rose, but we don't agree.
01:24 We think that she shouldn't get her bonus, and that it should be a bad week, as you said, if she hasn't done a lot.
01:30 And why should she be handed out this massive bonus? It's absolutely ridiculous.
01:36 Just sort of getting me really agitated and wanting to rant about it.
01:42 There does seem to be a special clause for super rich people that means that whatever they do, they just get more money.
01:49 And NatWest, don't forget, is partially owned by taxpayers, because its buzzers were so bad that it hit real bad troubles,
01:57 and the government had to step in. Well, the government chose to step in.
02:02 And so actually, if she walks away, I mean, the smallest figure I've seen suggested is four million.
02:06 The biggest figure is between 10 and 11 million.
02:10 So for doing a bad job, she's going to walk away with more money than most of us could ever dream of.
02:16 And it does. It just seems really, really wrong. It's definitely a bad week for the British taxpayer.
02:22 If we're rewarding people who are bad at their jobs, most people would have just been sacked.
02:27 Exactly. I know that there's talk of, you know, that being stopped.
02:32 But I think as we were just discussing, it's pretty likely that she is going to get it, some kind of bonus.
02:39 It's just the fact that these people don't stop for a minute and think, hmm, yes, maybe I don't deserve it.
02:46 Maybe I don't deserve any money, let alone a bonus payout of millions.
02:52 But I just don't think they spare the time to even think that.
02:57 Well, I think they live in a completely different world. I think they're so far removed from everyday people.
03:02 And we have this conversation about politicians as well, don't we? They're so far removed.
03:06 She's not thinking for one minute we're in a cost of living crisis.
03:10 My bank has mortgaged to people who are going to lose their homes.
03:13 That thought has not crossed her mind. Why would she give up her millions for that?
03:17 Because she probably doesn't know people are in that situation.
03:20 She's probably never been through it herself. And I think that's why it's so important that we write about these people.
03:27 Again, yesterday, Barclays, so you would think that they had a real, they almost came to two billion pound profits.
03:35 I think it was one point seven billion in the first three months.
03:39 And I thought, wow, Barclays have had a really good week, except it's in their shareholders panic because it's slightly less millions than it was previously.
03:52 And so they're sacking hundreds of bank workers.
03:55 And again, these are bank workers right at the bottom of that ladder who possibly don't get paid very well and probably are worried about the cost of increases.
04:02 And now they're facing a winter without jobs. And you just think these figures are so ludicrous.
04:07 It's hard for us to get our heads around them because it just doesn't come into normal household budgeting.
04:13 Do you worry about the millions and the billions when you're paying your bills, Marina?
04:17 I just think that what you were saying about those poor Barclays bank workers, can you imagine how how they feel when they, you know,
04:24 they wake up and they look at the profits and the salaries that the people at the top take and they're losing their jobs?
04:34 Actually, I was just thinking about the program. I don't know if you've seen the program Rich House, Poor House,
04:38 where they take families who are very rich and they have to spend a week in somebody else's house and vice versa.
04:46 I think maybe we should take like the likes of Alice and Rose and the Barclays bosses and they see what what it's like to live on a fixed income.
04:56 That would be brilliant. I'm not sure.
05:00 Yeah, it would be because they're so far removed from everyday life.
05:05 Who have we got in the celebrity world who's had a good week or a bad week, Marina?
05:09 I think in the celebrity world, the Kardashians seem to be having a brilliant week.
05:15 Kim Kardashian has now launched skims for men and the Brazilian footballer Neymar Jr. is posing in his underwear.
05:24 And it's just been announced that another of the Jenners, Kylie Jenner, is launching a new fashion line.
05:31 So not only does she have her sort of very successful cosmetics line, she's now launching fashion.
05:39 So is there sort of nothing that they can turn their hand to? And it's going back to people mock them.
05:45 So they're just what do they do? They just do this stupid reality show.
05:49 But actually, they're proving to be quite successful business women.
05:55 Well, they are very successful, aren't they? Again, they definitely do their household budgeting in millions and billions.
06:00 And we've all seen around the houses.
06:02 I've seen lots of memes where people wish that their house was as big as some of their fridges because they have like the most incredible store cupboards and fridges, don't they?
06:12 With ludicrous amounts of food in there, particularly for very skinny people.
06:16 But I think you're right. We mock them at our peril, really, because they're the ones laughing, aren't they?
06:23 They are not. They haven't got any of the sort of super celebrity talents.
06:26 They're not incredible singers. They're not incredible actresses.
06:30 A lot of them had a lot of plastic surgery. So you might argue they weren't even particularly the most beautiful women in the world.
06:36 And yet here they are. People talk about them every single day. They not dominate social media.
06:41 They get an awful lot of attention on TV aside from the reality show and on newspapers.
06:47 And yet we all say, well, they haven't got a talent between them. Well, they're very talented at making money.
06:53 They're very talented at making millions of money. And as you said, maybe they didn't have a talent to begin with, but perhaps with their momager, as she's known, Kris Jenner,
07:03 they've developed talents that they didn't know they had previously and proving to be very successful.
07:10 And it's not just because of their reality show. They've used that to catapult into other ventures.
07:16 And, you know, who knows what will be next for them? And it's interesting when we're talking about sort of names and everybody knows who the Kardashians are.
07:26 Another couple who everybody knows about and have a lot to say about are the Beckhams.
07:34 And obviously, their recent documentary is still on Netflix. It's the number one.
07:40 And the latest with them is obviously Rebecca Luz, who David Beckham was alleged to have an affair with, has spoken out about the couple.
07:50 So I just wondered, Nancy, your views on the Beckhams.
07:55 I think, you know, I think it's a funny one, the Beckhams. I'm not anti the Beckhams or pro the Beckhams, but this is the most polished piece of PR that you've ever seen.
08:06 It's very similar. You might think they're following in the footsteps of the Kardashians because it's absolutely controlled to every last second.
08:13 They look stunningly beautiful in every clip. They look like they've got the best family, the most harmonious relationship in the world.
08:22 And then up pops Rebecca Luz. I mean, people might say, oh, she only ever did one thing.
08:26 She's happily married now. Why is she not going away? But judging by her comments, she still feels that the blame was put on her.
08:35 And actually, she alleges further things that perhaps she wasn't the only alleged affair that Beckham had and that Victoria knew all about it.
08:44 Now, I say what riles me most about the whole controversy was if you remember at the time, the national media said, well, what did Victoria expect?
08:52 She didn't pack up the family and follow him on his great football career out of the country.
08:56 And he literally, whatever he does, I mean, there was one very famous incident on a football pitch where actually he was blamed because it was a complete fool for what he did.
09:06 But he really is golden balls, isn't he? He gets away with everything. Victoria was blamed for the affair.
09:12 Now they're saying it was an alleged affair. And actually, they've kept so much stuff out of the media.
09:18 They're so polished, but you can't help but like them, which is weird in a way.
09:21 But it doesn't know me that Victoria gets the blame. She's always the one that's told. She never smiles. She's never nice.
09:26 David's a lovely, friendly one. I'm just not sure that's true.
09:30 Yeah, I know what you mean, as you said. I think after the Netflix documentary, a lot of people were saying actually, Victoria's come across really well.
09:41 But I know a lot of people who really enjoyed it and think and have said afterwards, oh, aren't they wonderful?
09:48 But, you know, you have to remember, and I'm not being cynical here, it's produced by David Beckham's production company.
09:57 It is going to be polished. They are going to talk about what they want.
10:01 They did kind of gloss over the Rebecca Luce thing. And I'm not saying I feel sorry for Rebecca Luce.
10:07 I kind of do in a way, but they're the one who brought up the Rebecca Luce.
10:11 Well, they had to in the Netflix documentary, but they glossed over it because it was all about promoting Brand Beckham.
10:19 And not only that, now there's talk of Victoria Beckham having her own Netflix documentary, which will be, what a surprise,
10:28 probably produced again by David Beckham's production company.
10:32 So again, the cynic in me would say, you know, OK, people can believe what they want about the Beckhams.
10:43 They can think that they're a lovely couple. They're dancing together. They're very tactile.
10:48 But this is the image they want to portray. This is what it's all about. This is Brand Beckham.
10:54 The real money has come from the family, the coupling of the family.
10:59 I'm not saying she didn't make millions of Spice Girls. I'm not saying he hasn't had an incredibly well-paid football career.
11:04 But their power and the reason we're still talking about them and everybody's still talking about them,
11:09 even when their careers are long behind them, is that they've reinvented themselves as a pair.
11:16 Yeah. And following and following the Netflix documentary, there seem to be so many photographs in the press and headlines saying another tactile display by the Beckhams.
11:27 I mean, yeah, OK, but it makes sense that they put on a tactile display because it's all about promoting the brand.
11:34 But maybe I'm just too cynical. So good week or bad week for the Beckhams?
11:41 Well, yeah, I don't know. You could argue it both ways, couldn't you? I'd probably say it's a good week for them still.
11:48 Yeah, I think so, too. I think so, too. Good week for the millionaires. What a surprise, Marina.
11:53 We will see you next week. Thank you very much.
11:57 (upbeat music)