Sir Michael Richardson (9 April 1925 – 12 May 2003) was a British

investment Investment is the dedication of money to purchase of an asset to attain an increase in value over a period of time. Investment requires a sacrifice of some present asset, such as time, money, or effort. In finance, the purpose of investing i ...

banker in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. While he was managing director of

N M Rothschild & Sons Rothschild & Co is a multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company, and the flagship of the Rothschild banking group controlled by the French and British branches of the Rothschild family. The banking business o ...

from 1981 to 1990, he was an informal advisor to

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...

on economic policy. He was known as "Mr Privatisation".Sir Michael Richardson
''The Times'', 14 May 2003.

Early life

Michael Richardson was born on 9 April 1925 in London.
''The Daily Telegraph'', 14 May 2003.Nicholas Faith

''The Independent'', 16 May 2003.Martin Adeney
Sir Michael Richardson: Suave financier who championed privatisation
''The Guardian'', 20 May 2003. His father worked in insurance in the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...

. His mother Audrey de Rougemont was of

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

origin. 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 ...

in London. At the outset of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, he was evacuated to the United States, where he finished his education at the

Kent School Kent School is a private, co-educational, college preparatory boarding school in Kent, Connecticut, United States. Frederick Herbert Sill established the school in 1906. It is affiliated with the Episcopal Church of the United States. Acade ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

. In 1943, he joined the war effort by serving in the

Irish Guards The Irish Guards (IG), is one of the Foot Guards regiments of the British Army and is part of the Guards Division. Together with the Royal Irish Regiment, it is one of the two Irish infantry regiments in the British Army. The regiment has parti ...

. He was wounded in

Nijmegen Nijmegen (;; Spanish and it, Nimega. Nijmeegs: ''Nimwèège'' ) is the largest city in the Dutch province of Gelderland and tenth largest of the Netherlands as a whole, located on the Waal river close to the German border. It is about 6 ...

, The Netherlands, and later served in Palestine/Israel.

Career

Richardson started his career for Harley Drayton in 1949. Three years later, in 1952, he became a junior partner at Panmure Gordon & Co., where he worked until 1971. He worked at Cazenove from 1971 to 1981. He served as managing director of

from 1981 to 1990, and as its vice-chairman from 1990 to 1994. He served as the Chairman of Smith New Court from 1990 to 1995, and consultant from 1995 to 1996. He served as the Vice-Chairman of

Hambro Magan Hambro Magan was a London-based private equity firm from 1988 to 1996. History The firm was co-founded by Rupert Hambro, George Magan, Baron Magan of Castletown and Alton Irby III in 1988.Sara CalianNatWest Markets to Purchase J O Hambro Magan ...

from 1995 to 1996.Sara Calian
NatWest Markets to Purchase J O Hambro Magan of the U.K.
''The Wall Street Journal'', 11 October 1996. He served as the Vice-Chairman of Hawkpoint Partners, a subsidiary of

NatWest National Westminster Bank, commonly known as NatWest, is a major retail and commercial bank in the United Kingdom based in London, England. It was established in 1968 by the merger of National Provincial Bank and Westminster Bank. In 2000, it ...

, from 1995 to 1996. He served on the board of directors of the

Savoy Hotel The Savoy Hotel is a luxury hotel located in the Strand in the City of Westminster in central London, England. Built by the impresario Richard D'Oyly Carte with profits from his Gilbert and Sullivan opera productions, it opened on 6 August 188 ...

for twenty years. During

's prime ministerial years, he served as an informal advisor to

HM Treasury His Majesty's Treasury (HM Treasury), occasionally referred to as the Exchequer, or more informally the Treasury, is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for developing and executing the government's public finance policy and ec ...

. He was knighted by Thatcher in 1990. His career came to an end due to unsafe loans he made to Alan Shephard, an American businessman. As a result, he lost his licence with the Securities & Futures Authority.

Freemasonry

Richardson was an active

freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

. He served as the Chairman of the

Royal Masonic Hospital The Royal Masonic Hospital was a hospital in the Ravenscourt Park area of Hammersmith, west London, built and opened in 1933. The Grade II* listed building became the Ravenscourt Park Hospital in 2002, but this closed in 2006. As of May 2015 th ...

in Hammersmith, London.

Personal life

He married Octavia Mayhew in 1949. They had a son and two daughters. His granddaughter Dr. Flora Richardson married Richard de la Poer Beresford, Earl of Tyrone, heir of the Marquess of Waterford, in 2017. His wife predeceased him, dying in 1999. He was the master of the

Crawley and Horsham Hunt The Crawley and Horsham Hunt is a United Kingdom foxhound pack, with hunting country of around 23 miles by 20 miles within the ceremonial county of Sussex. History The precise date of establishment of hunting in Sussex is uncertain, but in the ...

and summered on the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

, where he enjoyed sailing. He was a freemason.

Death

He died on 12 May 2003 in London. He was seventy-eight years old.

References