A billionaire trader has said interns at his trading empire would be paid $35,000 (£26,000) as firms fight to snap up the best tech talent.
Alex Gerko, boss of XTX Markets, is offering postgraduates a 12 to 14-week research internship where they could pocket between $105,000 and $122,500.
The position, a role commanding four days a week in XTX’s New York offices, will also pay a “generous sign-on bonus,” The Telegraph first reported.
The firm has said it is “eager to push the boundaries of high-risk, high reward AI research”.
XTX said top-performing interns would be “actively considered” for permanent positions in New York or London.
It comes as businesses battle to secure the next generation of tech talent in order to up their competitive edge in the AI arms race.
The pay for interns is more than three times the average monthly salary in New York, which is just over $7,000 (£5,236).
The UK’s biggest taxpayer
Gerko contributed a whopping £682 in tax in 2024 alone and is understood be among the country’s individual biggest taxpayers. In 2023, he paid £665m.
The billionaire has said he was “happy to pay a ton of taxes” but has been a critic of government policy and management of public finances.
When Chancellor Rachel Reeves raised the lower rates of capital gains tax (CGT) to 18 per cent from 10 per cent and higher rate to 24 per cent from 20 per cent, Gerko hit back.
“What on earth is this government doing with taxpayer money?” he questioned.
The trading tycoon booked a £682m share of his company’s profits in the last year after the firm’s profit rocketed.
XTX secured near £1.3bn in profit for the last financial year, according to recent accounts filed with Companies House.
The figure marked their highest profit on record and led to a bumper payday for Gerko.
The Sunday Times Rich List estimated the billionaire trader has a net worth of more than £8.7bn.