Edward John Whitley is a British financial advisor and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

. A member of the Greenall Whitley brewing family, Whitley founded Whitley Asset Management, a privately owned investment advisory firm, in 2001. Prior to this he worked at NM Rothschild and as a TV presenter and Author. Edward Whitley authored two international bestsellers and was a frequent journalist for the ''Independent'' and the ''Times''. Whitley set up the Whitley Awards in 1993 in order to provide funding to local nature conservationists working around the world. One of the trustees of the Whitley Fund for Nature, which administers the awards and other grants, is Sir

David Attenborough Sir David Frederick Attenborough (; born 8 May 1926) is an English broadcaster, biologist, natural historian and author. He is best known for writing and presenting, in conjunction with the BBC Natural History Unit, the nine natural histor ...

The Princess Royal Princess Royal is a style customarily (but not automatically) awarded by a British monarch to their eldest daughter. Although purely honorary, it is the highest honour that may be given to a female member of the royal family. There have been sev ...

is Patron. Starting with an annual income of some £15,000 in 1993, the Whitley Fund for Nature is now supported by many donors, both individuals and other charitable trusts, and raises and distributes some £1 million a year. The charity has funded the work of over 190 conservation leaders working in 80 countries. The Whitley Awards are given at a ceremony at the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

, London and are unofficially known as the Green Oscars. Edward Whitley was appointed Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(OBE) in the 2013 Birthday Honours for services to wildlife conservation.

Books

*''The Graduates'', Hamish Hamilton, 1986. *''Gerald Durrell’s Army'', John Murray, 1992. *''Rogue Trader'', co-authored with

Nick Leeson Nicholas William Leeson (born 25 February 1967) is an English former derivatives trader whose fraudulent, unauthorized and speculative trades resulted in the 1995 collapse of Barings Bank, the United Kingdom's oldest merchant bank. Leeson was ...

, published by Little Brown, 1996

Footnotes

External links

A book review
by Edward Whitley on David Hughes' biography of Gerald Durrell, archived in 2005 {{DEFAULTSORT:Whitley, Edward Year of birth missing (living people) Living people British philanthropists Officers of the Order of the British Empire