Paul Marshall

Spear’s Review

Financial moguls are fiercely competitive, including when it comes to philanthropy. Spear’s suspects, then, that Sir Paul Marshall, co-founder of hedge fund Marshall Wace, will be proud of his position as Britain’s most charitable person in the 2024 Sunday Times Giving List.

Overall, Marshall’s donations to charitable causes totalled £145 million in one year. Even more impressive was the fact that the committed Christian took the top spot not on the size of his donations alone, but also the fact they equalled more than 16 per cent of his entire fortune.

It wasn’t the first time Marshall has been celebrated for his philanthropy. In 2016 he was knighted for that very reason. Though these days the financier is best known as something different: a media mogul. First, he ploughed £50 million into GB News, the right-wing broadcaster that is courting those dissatisfied with the BBC. 

This year Marshall set his sights on even bigger prizes: the Daily Telegraph and Spectator. The titles went up for sale in 2023 when creditors seized them from their previous owners. In September 2024 it was announced that Marshall was buying the Spectator for £100 million, and at the time of writing his consortium bid (backed by US billionaire Ken Griffin) is still a contender in the Telegraph race.