The founder and joint CEO of online gambling business Bet365, has the largest paid salary in UK history, exceeding that of the Prime Minister by 5,000 times

Denise Coates, joint Chief Executive of gambling firm Bet365, has reportedly made ￡468.9m in pay and dividends this year. This is 50% more than the year before.

She is penned as UK’s richest woman and is among the world’s 500 Bloomberg Billionaire’s Index. The 53-year old founder saw an increase of 277m from the year ending in March 2019.

Due to the pandemic, for the year ending in March 2020, the company reported an 8.2% year-on-year decline in revenue to ￡2.81bn. This year the world saw a lot of sporting events being cancelled affecting the revenue for Bet365. Some f these include UEFA’s Euro 2020 and the South American Football Confederation’s Copa America.

Ms. Coates stated “We continued to operate the business successfully throughout the lockdowns with business continuity plans enacted resulting in staff being able to work from home whilst significant investment was also made to ensure the office environments were COVID secure.”

Bet365’s annual report said: ‘The group ensures that remuneration for all employees is appropriate and fair, and is reflective of the individual’s input and contribution to the business as well as the overall performance of the group.’

According to Bloomberg’s Pay Index, in 2019 Coates earned more than Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO. This comes at no surprise as the on the Sunday Times Tax List Coates is recorded to be UK’s largest tax payer for the second consecutive year.

Denise Coates has previously used the company’s annual report to highlight her charity work. In April 2020 SiGMA News reported the hefty donation that Ms. Coates handed out to the NHS which saw her Foundation donate ￡10m to University Hospitals of North Midlands (UHNM). The hospital speakers said they were ‘extremely grateful’ and the money would support staff and patients ‘during Covid-19 and beyond’. The entrepreneur has also donated the sum of 85m to the Denise Coates Foundation back in 2019.

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