Thriller writer Lee Child: I bought a Renoir with the incredible salary I received for writing a screenplay

Thriller writer Lee Child is best known for his Jack Reacher novels, which have sold more than 100 million copies worldwide.

The books have been adapted into a film, starring Tom Cruise, and have been turned into a hit Amazon Prime television series starring Alan Ritchson.

Lee, 69, the father of a son born in Coventry, and his American wife, Jane, divide their time between their ranch in Wyoming and their terraced house in New York.

What did your parents teach you about money?

My parents, Audrey and John, met in 1947, having known nothing but financial hardship and war in their young lives, and that defined their financial attitude.

Save for a rainy day, never take out loans, focus on job security, think about pensions, never overindulge and turn off the light if you leave the room, even for a minute.

I was one of four brothers and grew up in Birmingham when people were paid in cash on Fridays, giving rise to the saying: “As rare as a pound note on a Thursday.”

My conclusion? If you want to avoid being dominated by money, you always need a little more than you think.

Have you ever had trouble making ends meet?

I was broke as a student, like everyone else. I made a fair amount of money at Granada TV, where I was the broadcast controller, but we still struggled when our daughter was born – we had a mortgage on our house in Manchester, the house to fix up and all the normal new parent stuff. Like being bitten to death by goldfish. We were overdrawn for a decade.

Have you ever been paid an absurd amount of money?

The dumbest one was from a famous film producer who asked me to turn a concept he had bought into a script.

I didn’t really want to do it (I had decided to relax that summer), so I asked for a ridiculous price.

That’s the right thing to do, but then they tell you it’s not on budget, nothing personal, everyone saves face. But the guy agreed! It was 11 days of work and I bought a Renoir with the money. The film was never made. But the script is good.

What was the best year of your financial life?

My paycheck comes in fits and starts, irregularly and unpredictably, and in 2016 a lot of things came together: bonuses for old movies, payment for a new movie, royalties from old books, the upfront portion of a new book contract, etc.

Wow factor: Lee Child has a brownstone in New York City and a ranch in Wyoming

It was spectacular, certainly the best numbers I’ve ever had. But emotionally, the best year was my first year as a writer in 1996. We paid off our overdrafts and were finally able to buy curtains for the dining room.

The most expensive thing you’ve bought for fun?

I fall prey to that trend of old people who can finally afford what they longed for when we were teenagers.

I love music and wanted to be a rock star. The words “electric guitar” still give me goosebumps. So I bought a vintage Fender Telecaster from the year I was born. It cost $20,000. Stupid, really: it doesn’t sound that different and I can’t play it anyway.

Big Star: Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher

What is your biggest financial mistake?

I have no concept of financial sophistication, my decisions are ignorant and random. I have no stocks or bonds or investments.

If I could, I’d keep the cash in a coffee can buried in the backyard. I don’t trust financial advisors very much. I wonder, if you’re such a market genius, why are you calling me on the phone? Why aren’t you lying on a beach in Barbados, rich, happy and retired?

The best financial decision you’ve ever made?

I’ve made money with some houses and lost money with others, but my best investment was the £3.99 I spent at WHSmith on notebooks and a pencil to write my first book. That was worth it.

But the decision I am most happy with is to give a lot, especially for education: I support about 100 students around the world, 40 of whom are in Britain, most of them at Sheffield, my old university.

But I also do things on a whim. I once saw a woman in a wheelchair struggling to get up a curb. I helped her and then wheeled her to a medical supply store down the street, where I bought her an electric wheelchair. I never even learned her name, but I hope she’s still hanging around.

Do you have a pension?

I received half my career pension from ITV and half my retirement pension from the UK government. I paid for them, so I claimed them.

In the United States, everyone saves for themselves, in an individual retirement account (IRA), not in any other type of IRA. There are tax advantages, so I max out each year; I have to withdraw it in four years.

Finally, I will receive the American retirement pension (which Lee has been paying into since he moved to the US in 1988), which can be collected at any time between the ages of 65 and 74, although I have not yet started to claim it. So I will have four pensions. I guess I must have listened to my parents.

Do you own any property?

I have a brownstone in New York City and a ranch in Wyoming, which has a house on it, although you can’t tell from the deed. Out West, you buy land. If it has a house on it, well, good for you. The legal process doesn’t care either way.

If you were Chancellor, what would you do?

My father was a tax inspector and a fan of tax history. It is clear that our notion of “tax” is essentially a concept from the 19th century or, at best, the 20th century, when money moved slowly and was always in plain sight.

It is now hidden, hypermobile and blatant. Profits made in Britain appear as expenses owed to a shell company in Luxembourg. I would abandon corporate tax altogether for large multinationals. I would tell them that if they want to do business here, they must first buy a billion-pound licence.

What is your number one financial priority?

Fingers crossed and hope this crazy ride lasts until the end.

Safe Enough, a new collection of short stories by Lee Child, is published by Bantam, priced £22.

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