Millionaire Hollywood star Mark Wahlberg, 48, is using taxpayer money to pay his staff. The star actor is about to face some heavy backlash from the fans and media for not paying his workers at his Wahlburgers restaurant in London from his own pocket.
Considering the actor and producer has an estimated net worth of over $270 million, many are wondering why he would need any financial benefits or help. He used the furlough scheme of the UK government to pay the 30 employees. His brothers Paul and Donnie are co-owners, and they made the decision to send the workers on a furlough.
A source close to the situation reveals, “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.”
The insider continues, saying, “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. There had been talk of expanding the business, with up to ten more restaurants across the rest of the UK, but that’s now all on hold.”
One of the restaurant’s representatives confirmed that they are in fact using the Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s scheme:
“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.”
Source:dailymail.co.uk
Kim Marks 
Nina Smith