Stuart Wheeler

Stuart Wheeler (born 1935) is a British businessman. He made his fortune as the founder of IG Index in 1974, but best known for his political activism,cite news |first=Gary |last=Parkinson |title=Spread betting boss throws in his hand |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2002/03/14/cnig14.xml |publisher=The Daily Telegraph |date=14 March 2002 |accessdate=2008-06-20 ] being a major donor to the Conservative Party.Wheeler was educated at Eton College. He did his National Service with the Welsh Guards, before studying at Oxford, from where he graduated with a second-class degree in law. He practised law as a barrister, before becoming an investment banker. However, Wheeler found his niche through IG Index, which pioneered spread betting. Originally, the company was launched to allow Britons to speculate on gold, when foreign exchange controls made it exhorbitantly expensive to actually buy it.

Politics

Although a successful businessman, Wheeler was not a well-known figure nationally until he donated £5m to the Conservative Party during the 2001 election campaign. This was, and remains, the largest single donation ever made to a political party in the United Kingdom.

In January 2008, Wheeler brought an action against the government, represented by Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Foreign Secretary David Miliband, over the government's process of ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon.cite news |first= |last= |title=Court challenge to EU referendum |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7379610.stm |publisher=BBC News |date=2 May 2008 |accessdate=2008-06-20 ] The action sought to prevent the government from completing ratification of the treaty, on the grounds that it was illegal for a government to breach the public's legitimate expectation of adherence to manifesto and other commitments. The government, along with the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats, had pledged in their 2005 manifestos to hold a referendum on the European Constitution, which Wheeler holds does not have 'significant or material differences' from the Treaty of Lisbon. This action failed.

Wheeler is seen as belonging to the right-wing of the Conservative Party.cite news |first=George |last=Jones |title=£5m donor accuses Cameron of education U-turn |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1511108/andpound5m-donor-accuses-Cameron-of-education-U-turn.html |publisher=The Daily Telegraph |date=22 February 2006 |accessdate=2008-06-20 ] He was initially critical of the leadership of David Cameron during its first few months. He had supported Liam Fox in the 2005 leadership contest, and switched his support to David Davis against David Cameron in the final run-off.

Personal life

In 2008, Wheeler was ranked joint-1794th in the United Kingdom by personal wealth by the "Sunday Times Rich List", with a value of £40m.cite web |url=http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/specials/rich_list/article3822404.ece |title=Stuart Wheeler |accessdate=2008-06-20 |last= |first= |date=27 April 2008 |work=Sunday Times Rich List |publisher=The Times ] Although he is a new entrant on the list, Wheeler had previously publicly stated his worth at being £90m. As part of his retreat from business, Wheeler spent £7.3m, windfall from the sale of his third tranche of shares in IG Group, on buying the Grade I listed Jacobean Chilham Castle, in Kent.cite news |first=David |last=Litterick |title=Spread betting buys spread in the country |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2002/07/23/cnig23.xml |publisher=The Daily Telegraph |date=23 July 2002 |accessdate=2008-06-20 ] He subsequently sold the rest of his shares, due in part to the cost of renovating the castle.

Wheeler is known to be a 'obsessive' gambler, having played bridge with Lord Lucan two days before his disappearance and with Omar Sharif,cite news |first= |last= |title=Stuart Wheeler: £5 million man |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/1123184.stm |publisher=BBC News |date=18 January 2001 |accessdate=2008-06-20 ] as well as being a regular competitor in the World Poker Championship.

He is married to the photographer Tessa Codrington, by whom he has three daughters, including model Jacquetta Wheeler.

Footnotes

External links

* [http://www.stuartwheeler.co.uk/ Stuart's Wheeler's official website]