Jon Aisbitt almost drops off latest Sunday Times Richest 1000 list

Jon Aisbitt almost drops off latest Sunday Times Richest 1000 list
Jonathan ChancellorDecember 7, 2020

Jon Aisbitt, the London-based former Goldman Sachs Australia boss, sits in equal last place on the latest Sunday Times Richest 1000 list.

His net worth was down £40 million.

Aisbtt was in equal 989th place this year with an £85 million worth.

Aisbitt was in 631st place last year. The list, now in its 26th year, was released on Sunday.

Aisbitt, 57, made £50 million from Goldman Sachs' 1999 float, and £15 million from share sales until he left the merchant bank in 2002.

It was also 2002 when the London-bound departing Goldman Sachs co-chairman, Jon Aisbitt, and his wife, Julie, secured $13.5 million for their Wunulla Road house, Point Piper harbour front house.

It was renovated after its $9.6 million sale in 1999 by the architect Luigi Rosselli. The house was built for the Rose family in the early 1960s by architect Adrian Snodgrass, who was influenced by the Wrightian style of the Sydney School of Architecture.

Aisbitt, ranked 368 in The Sunday Times' 2002 Rich List with a £98 million net worth.

The Sunday Times doesn't explain the drop in his net worth, but says Aisbitt's investments in Ocean Rig, the deepwater drilling operator, and broker Redburn Partners netted him £55 million.

He has a £1.8 million holding in the Man hedge fund business that he chairs.

In this role, Aisbitt oversees the operation's own charitable arm, the Man Group plc Charitable Trust which supports disadvantaged children through community projects, literacy and numeracy support and university scholarships, as well as supporting causes tackling domestic violence, homelessness, mental health and the environment.

Last year, it gave £1.85m and received another £1.115m in donations and other income for future spending. 

Back in 1999 I wrote the $10 billion Goldman Sachs employee goodwill bonus - given when the company listed on the New York stock exchange in April 1999 - had been a goldmine for Point Piperites, the Goldman co-chairman Jon Aisbitt having only recently arrived, temporarily drawing the drapes at his Wiversfield, Sussex, residence, Launces Hall Church.

Aisbitt bought in Point Piper right opposite his short-lived Goldman co-chairman Malcolm Turnbull, whose Australian outfit had then reported a 70% jump in its annual operating revenue to $15.2 million.

Title Tattle recalls proximity to Goldman co-chairman Malcolm Turnbull's mansion, Le Gai Soleil hadn't been a priority, given co-chairmanship inevitably is a role that can lead to the odd tension.

Jonathan Chancellor

Jonathan Chancellor is one of Australia's most respected property journalists, having been at the top of the game since the early 1980s. Jonathan co-founded the property industry website Property Observer and has written for national and international publications.

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