This flamboyant fedora wearing tycoon made his fortune selling an estate agency empire just before the 1987 stock market crash. He’s now worth in excess of £100 million. Married twice to a former Miss Blackpool, his 13th century Lancashire home, Claughton Hall, was moved from the bottom of a hill to the top. He served three years in prison for raping a woman who strangely couldn’t remember in which year the crime occurred. Oyston continues to protest his innocence but with his majority stake in the prospering Blackpool F.C. and other interests, he’s got plenty else to keep himself busy.
Tag: London
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Owen Oyston
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Jack O'Shea
A gentleman butcher. He’s deservedly been named Butcher of the Year by The Independent and his shops in Brussels and Knightsbridge are a mecca for foodies. He took on the might of Sir Roger Moore and his campaign against foie gras by selling it from his Selfridges counter in 2011. He was ejected from the store on Christmas Eve but rightly responded to his critics with a simple one liner: “I couldn’t give a damn.” -
Céline Dion CC OQ
Dion met her husband and manager, René Angélil, when she was 12. Her rise has been meteoric and she’s now one of the richest women in showbiz. Whether she’s “Falling into You” or “Taking Chances,” however, there’s just something utterly irritating about her demeanour. Please could someone send in an iceberg? This Titanic of a voice needs to sink. -
Rex Leyland
Once described by the Evening Standard as “an excitable bearded man,” Leyland lives on a houseboat near Kew Bridge and was one of the duo behind the immensely successful Foxtrot Oscar. Here is a gent with a passion for all things culinary that is nothing other than utterly infectious. Now a Restaurant Doctor, he divides his time between London and Spain and is also a bit of an aviation fanatic. -
Hugh Warrender
This Old Etonian describes himself on Twitter as an optimist, libertarian and cyclist. Warrender co-founded the Knightsbridge School and has been involved in wealth management and investment banking for several decades. He claims the new club he raised funds for in Mayfair will “put the heart” back into Hertford Street. With him and Robin Birley at the helm, no one is doubting it. -
James Murdoch
Considered by many as the pretender to the fortune of his father, Rupert, the phone hacking scandal may have put paid to that. He dropped out of Harvard to start a hip hop label named Rawkus and even gave an airing to a then little known Eminem. Here’s a rebel, complete with two tattoos, who, like a phoenix from the ashes, will undoubtedly rise again. -
Nancy Wake AC GM (1912 – 2011)
Churchill’s most highly decorated special agent. A resistance heroine who lived at The Stafford Hotel from 2001 to 2003 and regaled visitors with tales of her time as the legendary “White Mouse.” Her tipple of choice, gin and tonics, flowed as freely as did the stories of her time interviewing Hitler in the 1930s and 500-mile missions on bicycles. -
Chris Corbin OBE & Jeremy King OBE
London’s most successful restaurateurs are the co-founders of Corbin & King. This dynamic duo have been partners in business for over 30 years and acquired Le Caprice in 1981. They sold Caprice Holdings in 1998 and opened The Wolseley in 2003. That’s now London’s busiest restaurant and again they are empire building with the launch of The Delaunay and imminently a brasserie named Zédel in Sherwood Street and Café Colbert in Sloane Square. King, who sits on the council of the Tate Modern, is often to be spotted driving his dark blue Bristol whilst Corbin is chairman of Who’s Cooking Dinner? for the Leuka Appeal.
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Lapo Elkann
The Agnelli “crown prince” is also nicknamed “Lapo of Luxury.” Regularly voted as being one of the best dressed men on the planet, he’s worked as a personal assistant to Henry Kissinger and for the family business on brands including Ferrari, Maserati and Fiat. Not without controversy, Elkann’s presence at any event leaves the girls swooning. -
Michael Ezra
A hedge fund guru and anti-Communist. Mr Ezra knows more about tea than anyone you’ll meet and blogs at Harry’s Place and Under the Ocular Tree. A rights-based libertarianist, he professes a desire to abolish both the United Nations and unpaid internships. His dream home would be a suite at Claridge’s in Mayfair.