The millionaire business moguls lining the Tory Party pocket

Since Rishi Sunak became our latest Prime Minister back in October 2022, who has provided the Tory Party with their largest donations since?

Frank Hester – £10 million 

The Tory party is facing calls to give back £10 million in donations from its largest single donor Frank Hester, over racist remarks he allegedly made towards Dianne Abbott MP.  

The health tech boss became the biggest ever Tory donor this year after he made a second £5 million gift, adding to the £5 million already received in the last six months. 

He founded the software company Phoenix Partnership (TPP) and has made fortunes from public sector contracts. In the last eight years he won over £400 million of NHS and prison contracts, The Guardian reported. 

Sainsbury’s will – £10 million 

The party received a hefty £10 million donation at the end of last year from Conservative peer Lord John Sainsbury. The supermarket tycoon left the record donation, the party’s biggest ever gift, in his will.

Graham Edwards, party treasurer and property tycoon – over £4.5 million

Since October 2022 the Tory Party has gained over £4.5 million pounds from the co-founder of property investment firm Telereal Trillium, one of the UK’s largest private companies.

Shortly after Sunak came to office, Graham Edwards was appointed treasurer of the Conservative Party in December 2022, however he was then embroiled in a tax dodging scandal only a month later, after being found to have used a tax avoidance scheme to try and reduce tax due on his £5 million bonus. 

He has also held a board position on the right-wing think-tank Centre for Policy Studies. 

Mohamed Mansour, UK-based retail businessman – £5 million 

Last January, Egyptian businessman Mohamed Mansour made a £5 million donation to the party, at the time its largest since 2001. However he faced a backlash when it was found that his Caterpillar dealership Unatrac supplied machinery to Russia’s oil and gas industry, despite sanctions. The company’s business activity in Russia has since been suspended. 

The billionaire made his first donation to the Tory Party in 2016 and was also made a senior treasurer by Sunak. 

Amit Lohia, clothing businessman – £2 million

Indian-born petrochemicals executive Amit Lohia gave a £2 million donation to the party last year. Lohia’s donation was also mired in controversy over his company’s links with Russia, with business interests in a Russian textiles plant. 

Dubbed the “Prince of Polyester” he became vice chairman of Indorama Corporation, founded by his billionaire father, who’s huge wealth comes mainly from producing plastics and fertilisers. 

Alan Eldad Howard, hedge fund manager – £1 million 

Last May the party received £1 million from Alan Eldad Howard, the British hedge fund manager and cofounder of Brevan Howard Asset Management. Howard, who has lived between Switzerland and London, ranked at number 100 in the 2023 Sunday Times Rich List, with a fortune of £1.75 billion. 

Professor Christopher Barry Wood – £1.3 million

Professor Christopher Barry Wood has made a total of 17 donations to the Tories since Rishi Sunak came to office, totaling over £1,300,700 . Aside from the more modest £20,000 donations he usually makes, he gave a £700,000 donation last October followed by a £300,000 one six days later. There is very limited information about the professor online. 

An investigation by the independent in September 2023 found that four-fifths of all individual donations made to the party since Mr Sunak’s leadership were from just 10 wealthy individuals, which the news site said reflected a dwindling pool of donors. 

The Conservatives increased the election spending limit from £19 million to £34 million last year.

(Image Credit: Number 10)

Hannah Davenport is news reporter at Left Foot Forward, focusing on trade unions and environmental issues

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