Mark Wahlberg ‘is using taxpayers’ cash to pay furloughed staff at his London restaurant’ despite being worth over £240million
- The actor, 48, made the decision to furlough staff at his restaurant Wahlburgers in Covent Garden amid the coronavirus pandemic
- Mark owns the restaurant with his brothers Paul, 56, and fellow actor Donnie, 50, and is using the scheme to pay up to 30 workers
- A source told The Sun: ‘Mark’s decision to not personally bail out his staff has raised eyebrows, especially given how much he’s worth’
- The source added that there was talk of expanding the business to open up to 10 more restaurants in the UK, however this has now been put on hold
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Mark Wahlberg has reportedly confirmed he is using taxpayer cash to pay staff in his London restaurant amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The actor, 48, who is said to be worth over £240million, made the decision to furlough staff at Wahlburgers in Covent Garden.
According to The Sun, the star, who owns the restaurant with his brothers Paul, 56, and fellow actor Donnie, 50, is using the government’s furlough scheme to pay staff, said to be up to 30 workers.
Business: Mark Wahlberg, 48, has reportedly confirmed he is using taxpayer cash to pay staff in his London restaurant amid the coronavirus pandemic (pictured in February 2020)
A source told the publication: ‘Mark’s decision to not personally bail out his staff has raised eyebrows, especially given how much he’s worth.
‘A lot of the staff wondered if he’d help top up their wage packets but that hasn’t happened either.
‘Everyone is grateful they’re getting a salary as obviously this is a difficult time. But when other stars like Ed Sheeran are helping out their staff using their own wealth it looks pretty bad.’
The source added that there was talk of expanding the business to open up to 10 more restaurants in the UK, however this has now been put on hold due to the pandemic.
Restaurant: The actor, who is said to be worth over £240million, made the decision to furlough staff at Wahlburgers in Covent Garden
Owner: According to The Sun, Mark is using the government’s furlough scheme to pay staff, said to be up to 30 workers (pictured in Wahlburgers with Alison Hammond)
A spokesperson for Wahlburgers confirmed the venue was using the government scheme and said: ‘The restaurant industry has been hit incredibly hard because of this pandemic.
‘As a franchise organization, each individual Wahlburgers franchise has had to make decisions whether to keep its doors open or close indefinitely while we all navigate these challenging times together.
‘The franchise group that owns Wahlburgers Covent Garden made the decision to use the Furlough scheme for their employees in hopes that the large team and Central London site can be retained without permanent closure.’
MailOnline has contacted representatives for Wahlburgers and for Mark for further comment.
A source said;: ‘Mark’s decision to not personally bail out his staff has raised eyebrows, especially given how much he’s worth’ (pictured in February 2020)
Wahlburgers began in 2011 when Mark and his brothers opened their first restaurant in Hingham, Massachusetts.
In 2014, the restaurant chain became the subject of the reality series Wahlburgers, which aired on A&E in the US for 10 seasons.
Amid the ongoing lockdown, Mark has been quarantining with his family, wife Rhea Durham, 41, and their four children – Ella, 16, Michael, 14, Brendan, 11, and Grace, 10.
Venture: Wahlburgers began in 2011 when Mark and his brothers opened their first restaurant in Hingham, Massachusetts (pictured in March 2020)