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'Utterly out of touch': Prince Harry trolled for advice on quitting jobs that 'don't bring joy’

Kieran Boyle, MD of CKB Recruitment called out Harry's advice, saying, 'This fella really does live in cloud cuckoo land, doesn’t he?'

Harry, who reportedly shares a $10 million fortune with his wife Meghan Markle, was blasted by social media users after he suggested that people who are stuck doing jobs that did not make them happy should simply quit. 

Speaking in an interview with the business magazine Fast Company about his role as chief impact officer with the tech startup BetterUp, the Duke of Sussex said: “Many people around the world have been stuck in jobs that didn’t bring them joy, and now they’re putting their mental health and happiness first. This is something to be celebrated.”

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Harry and Meghan Markle's net worth

Harry and his wife “have relied largely on the estimated $10 million inheritance Harry received from his late mother’s estate... Meghan Markle contributed an estimated $2 million in after-tax earnings from her work in films and television shows, most notably the long-running legal drama Suits. They bought a $14.7 million estate in Montecito,” according to Forbes. Their estimated net worth, including the equity from their Montecito home, was reported to be roughly $10 million.”
 
Harry and Meghan also made a deal with Spotify, of which Page Six reported last June: “Through their Archewell Audio imprint, the couple signed a reported $25M deal with the platform to produce podcasts and other programming ‘that uplifts and entertains audiences around the world.’”

Experts criticize Harry

Kieran Boyle, managing director of CKB Recruitment in Gloucester called out Harry's advice as foolish. “This fella really does live in cloud cuckoo land, doesn’t he? Sure, most people would love to chuck in a job they hate, but the reality is a different thing entirely. A massive chunk of working people are only two or three pay packets away from losing everything. Perhaps our young prince should start to engage his brain more before his lips move," he told Daily Mail.

Rob Peters, mortgage expert at Simple Fast Mortgage, commented: “If you quit your job without the means to support yourself, I am pretty sure that the stress of ‘where the next meal will come from’ might be equally bad for your mental health.” Scott Gallacher, director at chartered financial planners Rowley Turton, said: “Whilst I agree that none of us should be stuck in a job we hate, quitting without either a ‘stuff it’ emergency fund or a replacement job lined up would be foolhardy. Not all of us have a trust fund to fall back on. In addition to the immediate concerns of how would you pay your bills, there is the risk that if you get into financial difficulties you could damage your credit rating and therefore your longer-term financial future.”

Royal biographer Angela Levin also similarly snapped: “Harry is utterly out of touch with people telling them to quit their jobs if they have mental health issues. Not everyone has £30million tucked away in the bank. I wonder if he’d give the same advice to people whose mental health is made worse by their marriage. Be quiet H, please.”

'He's completely lost the plot'

"He's never had a job," one social media use said, while another commented, "Here in the US, where the top reason people go bankrupt is to pay for healthcare, it seems particularly tone deaf. We work to pay for housing, food, healthcare etc., many of us to do not have the luxury to be choosy about our jobs." A third wrote, "That’s what happens when they give someone a job they are not trained for: 'coach.' Very easy to give that kind of advice when sitting at his Montecito mansion."

The next remarked, "Well he can afford to leave his job whatever that is, not living in the real world." One more noted, "Gives you a good idea about his mental health." Another remarked, "Tell me you don’t work to pay bills, without telling me you don’t work to pay bills." A commenter tweeted, "Ouch...yeah, looks like he needs to read the room." Another tweet read, "He's completely lost the plot, living in a different universe to the rest of us."