Hugh Richard Louis Grosvenor, 7th Duke of Westminster, DL (born 29 January 1991), is a British aristocrat and businessman. He inherited his title and control of the Grosvenor Estate, then worth an estimated £9 billion, from his father in 2016.[1] As such, Grosvenor is one of the wealthiest men in Britain. In 2023, Bloomberg estimated that he had a net worth of approximately £9.42 billion.[2] He ranked 15th on the Sunday Times Rich List 2024 with an estimated fortune of £10.127 billion.[3]
Early life and education
Hugh Richard Louis Grosvenor was born on 29 January 1991 in London as the third child and only son of Gerald Grosvenor, 6th Duke of Westminster, and his wife Natalia (née Phillips). His baptism on 23 June 1991 was attended by Charles, Prince of Wales (later King Charles III), who was named one of his godparents. He was styled as Earl Grosvenor from his birth until 2016, when his father died and he became the seventh Duke.
He was raised at Eaton Hall in Cheshire, the Grosvenor family seat with his three sisters: Lady Tamara, Lady Edwina, and Lady Viola. They attended a local public primary school. Afterwards, he attended the small, private Mostyn House School, followed by Ellesmere College in Shropshire.[5] He later studied at Newcastle University, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Countryside Management.[6]
Career
After graduating, Westminster worked in estate management at Wheatsheaf Group, a food and agriculture investment business based in the Eaton estate and owned by the Grosvenor Group. He then became an account manager at Bio-bean, a sustainability company that turns coffee waste into bioproducts, such as logs and biofuel.[6]
Upon his father's death in August 2016, he inherited the titles and share in the fortune then estimated at £9 billion, with considerable trust funds for his sisters.[7] This wealth is held in a trust of which the 7th Duke is a beneficial owner and chair of trustees but not the legal owner — an arrangement that received considerable media attention, owing to the inheritance tax exemption it confers.[8][9][10][11] The Duke is Chair of Grosvenor Group, a real estate development and investment company with a portfolio of urban and rural properties in Europe, Asia and North America, and investments in food and agricultural technology companies.[6] His land holdings include the 39,000 hectare Reay Forest Estate in Sutherland, Scotland.[12]
Westminster is the chair of trustees of the Westminster Foundation, a charitable organization that focuses on helping vulnerable youth and their families by supporting local communities and educational e-spaces, and fighting inequality of opportunities.[15]
In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Westminster donated £12.5 million to the national COVID relief effort and to support the NHS,[17] and £1 million to the University of Oxford to fund research projects on mental health and psychology.[17]
Quarterly: 1st and 4th, Azure a Portcullis with chains pendant Or on a Chief of the last between two united Roses of York and Lancaster a Pale charged with the Arms of King Edward the Confessor (City of Westminster); 2 and 3rd, Azure a Garb Or (Grosvenor)
Supporters
On either side a Talbot reguardant Or collared Azure
