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He does not get paid by the FSF, nor does he accept speaking fees (insofar as I am aware; I'm not sure if there are certain sponsors, but he insists that those be donated to the FSF, not himself); his time is donated. He received a MacArthur grant a while back, while he is able to live off of.

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After a quick google, it seems he was granted $500,000 (paid over 5 years) in 1990. [1]

This seemed like quite a lot until I divided it by the 25 years he's been living on it. £20k/year doesn't actually strike me as that much.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacArthur_Fellows_Program

> £20k/year doesn't actually strike me as that much.

You should learn about investing.

If he invested the initial amount without spending it, a moderate dividend yield of 3% would make him $15000 a year. Add 25 years of dividend growth, and he is probably receiving $50000-$100000 today, or even more if he reinvseted some of the dividends.

He has received more and larger cash inflows than that.

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