Sir John Lionel Beckwith,

CBE 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 o ...

(born 19 March 1947)"Preview Family Record - Beckwith"
''Burke's Peerage''. Retrieved 17 December 2012. is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

businessman.

Personal life

John Beckwith was born on 19 March 1947. He was educated at

Harrow School (The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God) , established = (Royal Charter) , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , religion = Church of E ...

. He is reportedly a "sport fanatic" and, as of 2011, had run four marathons. He is a member of the MCC, Queen's Club, the Berkshire Royal Golf Club, and the Rosslyn Park Rugby Club. He is the uncle of socialite

Tamara Beckwith Tamara Jane Beckwith (born 17 April 1970) is an English socialite and television personality. In the 1990s, she was regarded as one of the "It girls" of the London social scene. Early life The daughter of property developer Peter Beckwith, Bec ...

.Louise Armitstead
"Sir John Beckwith: profile"
''The Telegraph'', 13 January 2011. Retrieved 18 December 2012.

Career

Beckwith qualified as a Chartered Accountant with

Arthur Andersen & Co Arthur Andersen was an American accounting firm based in Chicago that provided auditing, tax advising, consulting and other professional services to large corporations. By 2001, it had become one of the world's largest multinational corporat ...

"Public Oration - John Beckwith"
''Loughborough University'', 17 July 2000. Retrieved 17 December 2012. from 1969 to 1971. In 1971, together with his brother Peter, he established the London and Edinburgh Trust PLC which they soon made one of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

's top ten real estate companies. Beckwith served as chairman until 1993. In 1986, Beckwith founded Rutland Trust PLC, a diversified corporate finance, venture capital and insurance broking group, where he served as chairman until 1991. In 1993, Beckwith founded the private investment company Pacific Investments PLC. In 2007, Rutland Trust PLC merged with August Equity Trust PLC to form New Star Private Equity Investment Trust PLC.

Philanthropy

Beckwith is Founder and President of

Youth Sport Trust Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood ( maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as being a young adult. Yout ...

, an independent charity devoted to changing young people's lives through sport. He is a Vice President of the

Royal National Institute of Blind People The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) is a UK charity offering information, support and advice to almost two million people in the UK with sight loss. History The RNIB was founded by Thomas Rhodes Armitage, a doctor who had eye ...

. He is a Patron of the

Teenage Cancer Trust Teenage Cancer Trust is a cancer care and support charity in the UK that exists to improve the cancer experience of young people aged 13–24. Founded in 1990, the charity's key service is providing specialist teenage units in NHS hospitals. It ...

and was a member of the Development Board of the Cancer Relief Macmillan Fund (later

Macmillan Cancer Support Macmillan Cancer Support is one of the largest British charities and provides specialist health care, information and financial support to people affected by cancer. It also looks at the social, emotional and practical impact cancer can have, a ...

). Beckwith established the Sir John Beckwith Charitable Trust in 1987 with the announced aim of helping a broad spectrum of charitable bodies. Between April 1993 and April 2010, the Trust made donations totalling £6.87m across a wide range of educational, sports, arts, medical and community organisations."Charity & CSR"
''Pacific Investments''. Retrieved 19 December 2012.

Political activity

Beckwith is a major

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

donor and gave £250,000 to the party during the

2019 United Kingdom general election The 2019 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday, 12 December 2019. It resulted in the Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party receiving a Landslide victory, landslide majority of 80 seats. The Conservatives made a net gain of 4 ...

campaign.

Honours

In 1996, Beckwith was made Commander 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 ...

(CBE), and in 2002 he was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

for his service to youth sports. In 2000 he was awarded an honorary

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doctor ...

degree (''Hon DLitt'') by

Loughborough University Loughborough University (abbreviated as ''Lough'' or ''Lboro'' for post-nominals) is a public research university in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. It has been a university since 1966, but it dates back to 1909, when L ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beckwith, John 1947 births Living people People educated at Harrow School British businesspeople Businesspeople awarded knighthoods Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Knights Bachelor Conservative Party (UK) donors