James Bonds economical situation

DanielCraig007 · July 2011

Is he rich?
What different incomes does he have?
Does he make a lot of money working for Mi6?
Does he make extra money by gambling?
What does Mi6 pay for and what does he himself pay for? Clothing etc?
When hes on a mission all expenses would probably be paid by Mi6.
Does his private life differ from when hes on a mission? Less extravagant? I guess it depends on the mission.

Please discuss...

Thunderpussy · July 2011

I always imagined Bond came from a Once grand Family , who probably lost alot of their fortune in the early days on the 20th century.
I've no idea what kind of money an MI6 inteligence officer would get, but agree a bit of Gambling would help and give him acess to more powerful people he could use as contacts.
Bonds lifestyle I always thought was Flemings kind of " Eat, drink and be merry,For tomorrow you die" attitude. Bond likes the finest wines and clothes even if they are expensive,because at any point it might all end for him.

pyrat · July 2011

This is actually a fascinating question. Fleming never really deals with Bond's finances, but he does equip him very well and indicates he is well traveled. And not just traveled, but well traveled in style. This suggests he has "independent means". After all Bond has the old Bentley, which even back in the early 60's would have been of considerable value.

In the movies Bonds education, clothing, etc. indicates wealth, but again they never mention where or how it was acquired.
Considering that Tom Ford suits start at about $3500 a copy he has to be more then just well off. Especially considering he frequently trashes these expensive suits without even blinking. Put that on your expense account a couple of times and you'd have the bean counters at MI-6 putting a contract out on you.

In Role of Honour Gardner has bond purchase a brand new British racing green Bentley Mulsanne Turbo with funds he inherits. which explains the car but not his overall financial situation.

I, therefore, do not think there is a definitive answer to the question. One of those suspension of belief things some movies and books require. -{

CmdrAtticus · August 2011

Since Bond is considered a very valuable agent in the Service (because of his training,skills and 00 status), he would probably get the pay of a senior officer, as well as "danger" pay. There would also be an additional salary from his status as in the Naval Reserve (and being a Commander that would not be meager). He would also get housing and medical benefit pay, insurance, etc. In todays figures it would probably put him in the upper 5 figures bracket in U.S. currency. Considering he is also an expert gambler (and probably as good as the high priced professional ones you see on the circuits these days) and gambles on a weekly basis at his club or when he's abroad, it would probably push his earnings well into six figures. He could write off his damaged clothes on his Service account (though being tailored, he might have to chip in on some of the cost if he prefers his own tailor). This would also apply to his private autos. If they are damaged while he's on duty (for instance, the Bentley crackup in CR and the other in Moonraker), then the service and insurance would probably pay for them. There is also the possibility that his father, being a rep for Vickers, could have left him a tidy trust fund when he was young, and he wisely invested it (he was sent to Eton after all, and that place isn't cheap, so his family obviously were well off - his aunt may have also been wealthy) so I don't see a problem of him supporting his lavish lifestyle.

Thunderpussy · August 2011

And of course He's been a Double agent for the Russians for Years. That's bound to get him a few Quid.

)

GaddGeneGadd · August 2011

Ah Pussy you forgot about the money he receives for his male escort services to the elderly friends of M, she pimps him out to all her horny over 50 friends and he gets triple booking fees if the ladies are over 65 for the senior service fee

)

superdaddy · August 2011

Is' nt Bonds cover [or at least it was during the RM days] that of an international playboy [rather like Thunderpussy] so surely the cost of this cover i.e cars, clothes,good food, duck houses [oops wrong expense sheet] are payed for by mi6 in way of a limitless credit card which M cancelled in the last [ahem] Bond film.
As to his salary, well up to 2001-2003 special forces and intellegance personnel were not getting outstanding salarys but that all changed with the invasion of Iraq to try to stop these people leaving the services and getting FAR more money in private security.

WordsAndDreams · August 2011

This topic does come up briefly in Moonraker (the book) when his specific salary is actually mentioned. If i remember correctly it was 2000 pounds a year (though that was back in the 50s), though i would have to look it up to be sure. He also talks about how when he goes on assignments Mi6 pays for pretty much everything, so even though he doesn't make that much money from his salary he is still able to sustain himself because of that extra money. There is a little more discussion about it when he wins that big hand when playing cards against Drax. I think he wins something like 15000 pounds, and he says something about how it would take him several years to make that much, and he details how he'll spend it.

Thunderpussy · August 2011

Not just an International Playboy but an International Man of Mystery as well supperdady. B-) As for Poor Bond being "Pimped" out by M to her Horny Pensioner Friends, is too Horrible an Image, GaddGeneGadd.

As for real Pay, I don't know about high ranking inteligence officers, But I do think it's disgusting that many squaddies before they go out to Iraq have to buy Loads of their own equipment. Better Boots etc.

zaphod · August 2011

pyrat wrote:

This is actually a fascinating question. Fleming never really deals with Bond's finances, but he does equip him very well and indicates he is well traveled. And not just traveled, but well traveled in style. This suggests he has "independent means". After all Bond has the old Bentley, which even back in the early 60's would have been of considerable value.

In the movies Bonds education, clothing, etc. indicates wealth, but again they never mention where or how it was acquired.
Considering that Tom Ford suits start at about $3500 a copy he has to be more then just well off. Especially considering he frequently trashes these expensive suits without even blinking. Put that on your expense account a couple of times and you'd have the bean counters at MI-6 putting a contract out on you.

In Role of Honour Gardner has bond purchase a brand new British racing green Bentley Mulsanne Turbo with funds he inherits. which explains the car but not his overall financial

situation.

Fleming does indeed give us a more or less complete picture and is at pains to do so. Cant site the text right now, but Amis picks up the discussion in his superb Bond Dossier. In essence Bond is paid the equivalent of a 'middle ranking Civil Servant' ( I do remember that phrase) He also has a 'small private income' Fleming is at pains to stress that this is a supplement and not enough to live on. His expenses on a mission are fully paid for and not particularly limited as he often has to pass as a well heeled playboy. Fleming also makes clear that the beloved Bentley is not new ( I think it's over 10 years old)

Overall we are given a clear picture that Bond is not impoverished, but neither is he as well off as he often appears. in Goldfinger when told to 'spend the money quickly' he ruminates upon restoring the Bentley.

I, therefore, do not think there is a definitive answer to the question. One of those suspension of belief things some movies and books require. -{

superdaddy · August 2011

Its always been like that TP, back in the 80's when deployed to Northern Ireland we bought our own bergens,boots, warm kit i.e fleeces,waterproofs and even our own webbing as issued kit was so substandard.
I still have friends [what says Sir Miles Superdaddy has friends] who are still serving and they tell me the kit issued now is by far superior and on the whole pretty good but troops still like to by their own bits of Gucci kit.

Thunderpussy · August 2011

I love the Idea of "Gucci Kit"

at inspection sone young squaddie getting a dressing down because his Body armour is Sooooooooooooooo Last season!

)

superdaddy · August 2011

Apparantly Max Factor do a lovely line in camoflague cream.
We are so of topic.

superdaddy · August 2011

Thunderpussy wrote:

And of course He's been a Double agent for the Russians for Years. That's bound to get him a few Quid. )

Only since 2006 Thunderpussy and thats only because his twin brother's the president of Russia.

Thunderpussy · August 2011

Funny

), superdaddy. A short while ago I think NP ( apologies to Napoleon, if it wasn't) Posted some posters that whent up over Moscow. Which had Old Vlad's face put on to the CR posters of D Craig

), so I think Bond's cover may be Blown there.

Thunderpussy · August 2011

With the economical situation getting worse Here's an idea of how Bond 23 might Look.

http://youtu.be/jDByX9DVqSk

Monckton · August 2011

In the authorised biography by Pearson he writes that after one of her girls relieved a young Bond of his wallet, the brothel madam fell for Bond and, during their relationship, introduced him to bespoke tailoring aswell as buying him the Bentley. There is quite a bit in the book on Bond's background. Pearson took the snippets that Fleming revealed and embellished them and it makes for quite a good read. Explains a great deal about finances etc.

thesecretagent · August 2011

In Fleming's novels Bond drove an old car (yet not at a time when classics were popular) because he drove what he could afford, yet was not flash enough to keep upgrading - he was happy with what he had, and what he wanted was as much performance as he could get for the money. He spent money having it expertly maintained, and kept going.
His ambition was to die with as little money as possible. That is to say he wanted to enjoy what he had and live to the full.
His salary was about six hundred a year (£4 - £5K ?) and he received two weeks holiday after every assignment, extra to his standard holiday entitlement.
When gambling with the firms funds, his winnings were all accounted for so M could run special projects with the profits.
Bond was well educated so I imagine there to have been some family money, but I think Bond likes the nice things in life, but he isn't consumed by them.

James Bonds economical situation

Comments