Peter Hall is a London-based Australian financier, media proprietor and philanthropist. He is the Founder, Executive chairman and former Chief Investment Officer of
Hunter Hall Investment Management, an investment firm. He formerly owned stakes in ''
Prospect'' and ''
Monocle
A monocle is a type of corrective lens used to correct or enhance the visual perception in only one eye. It consists of a circular lens, generally with a wire ring around the circumference that can be attached to a string or wire. The other ...
'', two London-based magazines. He has donated millions of dollars to animal conservation charitable causes.
Early life
Peter Hall was born in 1960 in Bangkok, Thailand.
[Meat Free Mondays: Peter Hall](_blank)
/ref> His father was a journalist and diplomat from New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
.[Lucinda Schmidt]
Profile: Peter Hall
''The Sydney Morning Herald'', 7 April 2010[James Robinson]
Financiers take control of Prospect mag
''The Guardian'', 6 May 2008 As a result, he lived in Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
with his family when he was five years old. He also lived in Canada, France and England. His uncle Edwin Arnold Earnshaw worked for News Corporation
News Corporation (abbreviated News Corp.), also variously known as News Corporation Limited, was an American multinational mass media corporation controlled by media mogul Rupert Murdoch and headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas in New ...
from 1964.
He was educated at Bedales School
Bedales School is a co-educational, boarding and day independent school in the village of Steep, near the market town of Petersfield in Hampshire, England. It was founded in 1893 by John Haden Badley in reaction to the limitations of conven ...
, a boarding school in Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...
, England. He graduated from the University of Sydney
The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's ...
, where he received an Arts degree.
Career
Hall started his career as a journalist for Fairfax Media
Fairfax Media was a media company in Australia and New Zealand, with investments in newspaper, magazines, radio and digital properties. The company was founded by John Fairfax as John Fairfax and Sons, who purchased ''The Sydney Morning Herald' ...
.[Peter Hall](_blank)
'' Bloomberg Business''
He embarked upon a career in finance, and served as "Investment Manager at HGL Limited, Portfolio Manager and Analyst at Mercantile Mutual Holdings Limited, Industrial Analyst at Pembroke Securities Limited, Investment Analyst at New Zealand South British Insurance Limited." He credits Warren Buffett
Warren Edward Buffett ( ; born August 30, 1930) is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is currently the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is one of the most successful investors in the world and has a net ...
's writings as an inspiration for his career path.
In 1993, he founded Hunter Hall Investment Management, an investment firm which focuses on "ethical investing", with just AUS$1 million. It now has from AUS$1.1 billion, and employs 30 people.[International Rhino Foundation: Board of Directors: Peter Hall](_blank)
Hall previously served as its Executive chairman and Chief Investment Officer,
/ref> and owns 47% of the firm. In December 2016, Hall abruptly resigned his role as CIO (no mention was made of his role as CEO or COO).
In 2008, with fellow financier George Robinson, he acquired 26% of '' Prospect'', a British magazine of political affairs, from Derek Coombs. As a result, both Hall and Robinson had a controlling stake in the magazine. Moreover, Hall was a founding shareholder of ''Monocle
A monocle is a type of corrective lens used to correct or enhance the visual perception in only one eye. It consists of a circular lens, generally with a wire ring around the circumference that can be attached to a string or wire. The other ...
'', a global affairs and lifestyle magazine, but has since sold his stake.
In 2005 Hall, along with James Gurnsey and Cameron McClure, founded Flat White café in Berwick Street, Soho, which was the first of the third wave independent cafes to introduce Antipodean-style coffee, and especially the eponymous Flat White, to London and Europe. He also owns Milk Bar in Bateman Street, Soho.
Philanthropy
He was a founder of the Sydney Rainforest Action Group and the London Committee for the Abolition of Whaling. He serves on the board of directors of the International Rhino Foundation
The International Rhino Foundation (IRF) is a Texas-based charity focused on the conservation of the five species of rhinoceros: the White Rhinoceros and Black Rhinoceros in Africa, and the Indian Rhinoceros, Javan Rhinoceros and Sumatran Rhinoc ...
. He is also a Patron of the Asian Rhino Project. He has made charitable contributions in excess of AUS$8 million to the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society
Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC), formerly Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society in the UK, is a wildlife charity that is dedicated solely to the worldwide conservation and welfare of all whales, dolphins and porpoises (cetaceans). It has ...
, Greenpeace, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) is a non-profit, marine conservation activism organization based in Friday Harbor on San Juan Island, Washington, in the United States. Sea Shepherd employs direct action tactics to achieve its g ...
, the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund
The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International (originally the Digit Fund) is a charity for the protection of endangered mountain gorillas. The Digit Fund was created by Dr. Dian Fossey in 1978 for the sole purpose of financing her anti-poaching patr ...
, the Wild Camel Protection Society, Save International, Voiceless, the Great Ape Project
The Great Ape Project (GAP), founded in 1993, is an international organization of primatologists, anthropologists, ethicists, and others who advocate a United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Great Apes that would confer basic legal right ...
and the Free the Bears Fund
The Free the Bears Fund (FBF) is an Australian charitable wildlife-protection organization. It was started by Mary Hutton after she watched a documentary in 1993 on bears kept in small cages for bile farming. The fund was registered as a not-fo ...
. He has been named a "Business Visionary" by Compassion in World Farming, a campaigning and lobbying animal welfare organisation based in England. Moreover, he does not eat meat on Mondays for ethical reasons.
He served on the Council of the Sydney Film Festival
The Sydney Film Festival is an annual competitive film festival held in Sydney, Australia, usually over 12 days in June. A number of awards are given, the top one being the Sydney Film Prize.
the festival's director is Nashen Moodley.
Histo ...
and the Bedales Grants Trust Fund, which benefits his alma mater, Bedales School. He is a patron of CleanupUK, a non-profit organisation which encourages volunteers to pick up litter in England whose president is Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall
Camilla (born Camilla Rosemary Shand, later Parker Bowles, 17 July 1947) is Queen Consort of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms as the wife of King Charles III. She became queen consort on 8 September 2022, upon the ac ...
.
He became a Member of the Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gov ...
for his philanthropic endeavours in 2010.
He is currently director of the International Conservation Caucus Foundation, Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation
The Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation (CAWF) is an influential animal welfare organisation in the United Kingdom. According to ''The Daily Telegraph'', "it is one of the most powerful lobbying groups in the Tory Party."
Its patrons have inc ...
Ltd, Flat White Limited and Steep Investments Limited.
Political activism
He is a donor to the Conservative Party,[Marie Woolf, Tim Shipman, 'Tories' Wobbly Weekend', ''The Sunday Times'', 26 April 2015, pp. 1; 4] having donated in excess of £100,000 from 2010 to 2015, and £500,000 prior to the 2010 election.[Rowena Mason]
David Cameron hits back after campaign digs from donors and Rupert Murdoch
''The Guardian'', 26 April 2015 In April 2015, he criticised Prime Minister David Cameron's leadership and called for Boris Johnson
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...
to become the next leader of the party, if David Cameron lost the election. However, shortly after making the comments, Hall apologised.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, Peter
Living people
Businesspeople from Sydney
People educated at Bedales School
University of Sydney alumni
Australian financiers
Australian company founders
Australian philanthropists
Australian emigrants to England
Members of the Order of Australia
Conservative Party (UK) people
1960 births