William Aitken
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| William Aitken | |
|---|---|
| Born | William Selwyn Ozren Aitken September 7, 1982 |
| 🏳️ Nationality | British |
| 🏫 Education | Eton College The University of Edinburgh |
| 💼 Occupation | Financier and environmentalist |
| 👴 👵 Parent(s) | Jonathan Aitken Lolicia Aitken |
| 👪 Relatives | Max Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook John Maffey,1st Baron Rugby Sir William Aitken Penelope, Lady Aitken Maria Aitken Jack Davenport |
| Twitter= | |
William Selwyn Ozren Aitken (born 7th September 1982) is a British financier, entrepreneur and environmentalist. The son of former British government Cabinet minister Jonathan Aitken, the great grand-son of John Maffey,1st Baron Rugby, and the great-great nephew of newspaper magnate and war-time minister Max Aitken, 1st Baron Beaverbrook. He is founder and CEO of UAE based investment firm ACRS Capital, which focuses on real estate, private equity and logistics investments.
Family[edit]
Aitken's parents are Jonathan Aitken, and Monaco based Swiss economist Lolicia Aitken. His grandparents are Sir William Traven Aitken, KBE, a former Conservative MP, and The Honourable Penelope, Lady Aitken, MBE, JP. Aitken is a great-great-nephew of the newspaper magnate and war-time minister, The 1st Baron Beaverbrook. His aunt is the actress Maria Aitken and his first cousin is the Hollywood actor Jack Davenport.
Aitken has twin sisters Alexandra and Victoria Aitken. In 1999, DNA testing confirmed that Petrina Khashoggi, putative daughter of billionaire Saudi arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi, was Aitken's biological half sister, the result of an affair between his father and Khashoggi's wife Soraya (née Sandra Daly).[1] The paternity of Aitken’s father has similarly been under question. In December 2008, Dutch historian Cees Fasseur claimed that Jonathan Aitken was the result of a wartime affair between Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands and The Honourable Penelope, Lady Aitken.
Career[edit]
Aitken, attended Eton College, and subsequently graduated in Christian theology from New College at The University of Edinburgh. After leaving university, he worked for the UK Conservative Party and played an active role in the 2005 Conservative leadership contest, where then worked closely for the David Davis’ leadership bid team against David Cameron.[2]
Aitken then worked for the Reuben Brothers working in real estate private equity on some of the largest and most well known property deals in the United Kingdom. Aged 26, Aitken was made the interim CEO of Global Switch.
After leaving Reuben Brothers, Aitken followed his family’s footsteps in the Middle East where Jonathan Aitken was dubbed ‘Jonathan of Arabia’[3] and joined Dubai based Private equity fund Samena Capital where he managed the firms investor relations.
Aitken is currently the founder and CEO of ACRS Capital, a real estate focussed investment firm.[4]
Environmentalism[edit]
In 2008 Aitken, together with childhood school friend Ben Goldsmith founded the Ibiza Preservation Foundation of which Aitken serving as Chairman from 2008 - 2011. In 2018 the Ibiza Preservation Foundation celebrated its 10th Anniversary.[5] The Ibiza Preservation Foundation has raised more than $1.5 million which it has donated to sustainability causes and conservation projects bin Ibiza.[6] Aitken continues to serve on the Ibiza Preservation foundations Patronato.[7]
References[edit]
- ↑ Ridley, Yvonne (10 January 1999). "Family rallies round Aitken's secret Khashoggi love child". The Guardian. London.
- ↑ Guido Fawkes (6 November 2005) “Standing Shoulder to Shoulder” Order-Order, London
- ↑ Leigh, David (10 April 1995) “Jonathan of Arabia” World in Action ITV Documentary
- ↑ ACRS Capital website
- ↑ Lama, German (2 August 2018) “Ten Years of the Ibiza Preservation Foundation” El Mundo, Madrid.
- ↑ Ibiza Preservation Foundation Annual Report 2019 (p.10)
- ↑ Ibiza Preservation Foundation Annual Report 2019 (p.30)
William Aitken[edit]
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