David John Sainsbury, Baron Sainsbury of Turville (born 24 October 1940) is a British politician, businessman and philanthropist. From 1992 to 1997, he served as chairman of
Sainsbury's
J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is a British supermarket and the second-largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom.
Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company was the largest UK r ...
, the supermarket chain established by his great-grandfather
John James Sainsbury in 1869.
He was made a
life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the peerage whose titles cannot be inherited, in contrast to hereditary peers. Life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. With the exception of the D ...
in 1997 as a member of the
Labour Party, and was on a leave of absence from the
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
from 15 July 2013 to his retirement in 2021. He served in the government as
from 1998 and 2006.
He is a major donor to the
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
and, in 2011, was elected
Chancellor of the University of Cambridge.
He also made the largest donation in British political history, giving £8 million to the
Liberal Democrats in 2019.
Early life and business career
The son of Sir
Robert Sainsbury (1906–2000) and Lisa Ingeborg ( van den Bergh; 1912–2014), Sainsbury attended
Eton College
Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...
before going on to earn a degree in History and Psychology at
King's College,
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
. He then completed an MBA at
Columbia Business School
Columbia Business School (CBS) is the business school of Columbia University, a Private university, private research university in New York City. Established in 1916, Columbia Business School is one of six Ivy League business schools and one of ...
in the United States.
Sainsbury joined the family firm, then known as J. Sainsbury Ltd., in 1963, working in the personnel department. He became a director in 1966. He was Financial Controller from 1971 to 1973, just before the company's flotation.
When the company listed on the
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange based in London, England. the total market value of all companies trading on the LSE stood at US$3.42 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Paul's Cath ...
on 12 July 1973, at the time the largest flotation ever, his family retained control with an 85% stake. His father, Sir Robert Sainsbury, gave almost his entire stake in the company to David Sainsbury, his only son, whereas his uncle Alan Sainsbury split his stake in the business between his sons John Davan Sainsbury, Simon Sainsbury, and Tim Sainsbury. John Davan Sainsbury became chairman in 1969 on Sir Robert Sainsbury's retirement.
He was the group's Finance Director from 1973 to 1990, during which time the company grew rapidly. He was chairman of
Savacentre from 1984 to 1993, during which time the hypermarkets business grew slowly. He was deputy chairman from 1988 to 1992. On JD Sainsbury's retirement as chairman and chief executive on 2 November 1992, David Sainsbury became chairman.
In 1996, Sainsbury's announced its first drop in profits in 22 years, and the first of three profits warnings during his chairmanship was issued. Although there were senior management changes, which included David relinquishing the chief executive's role to Dino Adriano and becoming non-executive chairman, there were no new directors or outsiders appointed to the senior management team. Profits fell the next year, but rose in 1998. At this point, David Sainsbury, who had wanted to step down at the end of 1997, made a surprise announcement of his retirement as chairman to pursue his long-held ambition to have a career in politics, after "32 enjoyable and fulfilling years" working for Sainsbury's. Sainsbury's share price increased on the day of this announcement.
On his retirement as chairman, to avoid any conflict of interest, David Sainsbury placed his then 23% stake in Sainsbury's into a "blind" trust, to be administered by lawyer Judith Portrait. When David Sainsbury announced his intention to give away £1 billion to charity in 2005, his 23% stake was sold down, eventually to 12.9% by early 2007. His beneficial holding became just 7.75% when he regained control of his shares in February 2007 following his decision to step down as
in November 2006. During the private equity takeover bid in the first half of 2007, David indicated he was willing to let the Sainsbury's board open its books for due diligence if someone offered him a price of 600 pence per share or more.
David Sainsbury retains a sizeable shareholding in his family's supermarket chain (around 5.85%). To further his philanthropy interests, he placed 92million of his shares (representing 5.28% of the company's share capital), into his investment vehicle, Innotech Advisers Ltd (which donates all its dividends to charity), meaning his beneficial stake is just 0.57% (lower than JD's 1.6% beneficial interest). The
Sainsbury family
The Sainsbury family (also Lord Sainsbury and family and incorrectly the Sainsbury's family) founded Sainsbury's, the UK's second-largest supermarket chain. Today, the family has many interests, including business, politics, philanthropy, arts, and ...
as a whole control approximately 15% of Sainsbury's. In the
Sunday Times Rich List 2008 his family fortune was estimated at £1.3 billion.
Political career
Sainsbury joined the Labour Party in the 1960s, but was one of the 100 signatories of the '
Limehouse Declaration
The Limehouse Declaration was a statement issued on 25 January 1981 by four senior United Kingdom, British Labour Party (UK), Labour politicians, all Member of Parliament, MPs or former MPs and Cabinet Ministers: Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Bill Rod ...
' in an advertisement in ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' on 5 February 1981; he went on to be a member of the
Social Democratic Party
The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology.
Active parties
Form ...
(SDP) formed by the authors of the Declaration. Following the
1983 election, he prompted the party to give more priority to recruiting members and finding a firm financial base; he was by far the biggest donor to the party, and a trustee,
giving about £750,000 between 1981 and 1987. His donations were typically earmarked to specific projects rather than general day-to-day operations.
Along with
David Owen
David Anthony Llewellyn Owen, Baron Owen, (born 2 July 1938) is a British politician and physician who served as Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs as a Labour Party MP under James Callaghan from 1977 to 1979, and later ...
, Sainsbury opposed merging the SDP with the Liberal Party following the 1987 election, and provided office space for Owen to help him re-establish a separate political party, which was created in 1988. The
'continuing' SDP was wound up in 1990, and Sainsbury changed allegiance back to the Labour Party, rejoining them in 1996. A year later, following the Labour Party's election victory, he entered the
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
as a Labour peer, being created Baron Sainsbury of Turville, ''of
Turville in the
County of Buckinghamshire'', on 3 October 1997.
Between 1996, the year he rejoined Labour, and 2006, when he stood down as a government minister, Sainsbury donated £16 million to the Labour Party, usually in batches of £1 million or £2 million each year. He donated a further £2 million on 7 September 2007, stating that he was impressed by Gordon Brown's leadership and believed "that Labour is the only party which is committed to delivering both social justice and economic prosperity". He gave another £500,000 on 15 December 2008, making a total of £18.5 million. He is associated with the
Labour Friends of Israel
Labour Friends of Israel (LFI) is a group in the Parliament of the United Kingdom that advocates a strong bilateral relationship between the United Kingdom and Israel, and seeks to strengthen ties between the British Labour Party (UK), Labour ...
.
In April 2006, it was reported Sainsbury "faced a possible probe into an alleged breach of the ministerial code after admitting he had failed to disclose a £2 million loan he had made to the Labour Party – despite publicly stating that he had." He subsequently apologised for "unintentionally" misleading the public, blaming a mix-up between the £2 million loan and a £2 million donation he had made earlier.
In July 2006, he became the first government minister to be questioned by police in the "
Cash for Peerages" inquiry. On 10 November 2006, he resigned as Science Minister, stating that he wanted to focus on business and charity work. He categorically denied that his resignation had anything to do with the "Cash for Peerages" affair, although this was contradicted by subsequent press reports attributed to "Labour insiders" which suggested that his resignation was indeed a direct consequence of the affair.
From July 1998 to November 2006, he held the office of
at the
Department of Trade and Industry, serving in the
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
and accepting no salary.
Because of his importance to the Labour Party as a donor, contemporary press reports described him as "unsackable". He has argued that there are "far too many
reshuffles", and that there were considerable benefits to his remaining in post for so long.
Sainsbury has also been associated with the
Institute for Public Policy Research
The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) is a Progressivism, progressive think tank based in London. It was founded in 1988 by Clive Hollick, Baron Hollick, Lord Hollick and John Eatwell, Baron Eatwell, Lord Eatwell, and is an independen ...
and
Progress
Progress is movement towards a perceived refined, improved, or otherwise desired state. It is central to the philosophy of progressivism, which interprets progress as the set of advancements in technology, science, and social organization effic ...
. Between 2001 and 2011 he provided £2 million of funding for Progress.
In 2009, he created the
Institute for Government
The Institute for Government (IfG) is a British independent think tank which aims to improve government effectiveness through research and analysis. Based at 2 Carlton Gardens in central London and founded as a charity in 2008, it was initiall ...
with £15 million of funding through the
Gatsby Charitable Foundation to help government and opposition politicians to prepare for political transitions and government. He donated £390,000 to Progress and the Movement for Change between December 2011 and April 2013, while he was not on a UK electoral register, which is contrary to
electoral law
Election law is a branch of public law that relates to the democratic processes, election of representatives and office holders, and referendums, through the regulation of the electoral system, voting rights, ballot access, election management ...
, leading to Progress and the Movement for Change being fined by the
Electoral Commission
An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...
.
Sainsbury funded the "Remain" side of the
2016 European Union membership referendum campaign,
giving £2,150,000 to the Labour and £2,125,000 to the
Liberal Democrats "Remain" campaigns.
After the
2017 general election, Sainsbury announced he would no longer provide financial backing to party political causes, but will donate to charitable causes. During 2016 he had donated £260,000 to
Progress
Progress is movement towards a perceived refined, improved, or otherwise desired state. It is central to the philosophy of progressivism, which interprets progress as the set of advancements in technology, science, and social organization effic ...
in addition to backing "Remain" organisations.
However, in late 2018 he donated £25,000 to Scottish Conservatives MP
Luke Graham.
During the
2019 United Kingdom general election
The 2019 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 12 December 2019, with 47,074,800 registered voters entitled to vote to elect 650 Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons of the Un ...
campaign Sainsbury donated £8 million to the
Liberal Democrats, over half the party's election funding, making its election donations larger than the Labour Party's.
Sainsbury has been a long-time patron of the
socialist society
The Socialist Society was founded in 1981 by a group of British socialists, including Raymond Williams and Ralph Miliband, who founded it as an organisation devoted to socialist education and research, linking the left of the British Labour Part ...
Scientists for Labour.
He ranked 14 out of 50 on the Top 50 Influential Lib Dems of 2020 list – the only non-Lib Dem member to feature.
Charitable works
Sainsbury founded the
Gatsby Charitable Foundation in 1967. In 1993, he donated £200 million of Sainsbury's shares to the Foundation's assets. By 2009 the foundation had given £660 million to a range of charitable causes.
In 2009, he allocated a further £465 million to the foundation, making him the first Briton to donate more than £1 billion to charity.
He set up the
Sainsbury Management Fellowship scheme in 1987 to develop UK engineers into leaders in industry.
In 2003 Sainsbury was granted the
Andrew Carnegie Medal for Philanthropy.
Sainsbury has donated £127 million of the Gatsby Charitable Foundation's money to the
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...
in the last decade: he gave £45 million to the
Cambridge University Botanic Garden
The Cambridge University Botanic Garden is a botanical garden located in Cambridge, England, associated with the university Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Department of Plant Sciences (formerly Botany School). It lies be ...
in 2005. In 2011, Cambridge's
Sainsbury Laboratory opened, paid for by an £82 million donation from the Gatsby Foundation made in 2008. It was said by the ''
Financial Times
The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...
'' to be "one of the biggest donations ever made to a British university ... surpassed only by a 2000 gift to the university by the
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
The Gates Foundation is an American private foundation founded by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. Based in Seattle, Washington, it was launched in 2000 and is reported to be List of wealthiest charitable foundations, the third largest char ...
."
In 2013, together with his wife Susie, he joined the
Giving Pledge, the group started by
Warren Buffett
Warren Edward Buffett ( ; born August 30, 1930) is an American investor and philanthropist who currently serves as the chairman and CEO of the conglomerate holding company Berkshire Hathaway. As a result of his investment success, Buffett is ...
and
Bill and Melinda Gates, pledging to donate half his fortune to charitable trusts during his lifetime.
Chancellor of the University of Cambridge
In 2011, Sainsbury was formally proposed by the Nominations Board of Cambridge University to succeed the Duke of Edinburgh as
Chancellor of the University of Cambridge.
If his election had not been contested by 17 June, he would have assumed office on 1 July.
However, his nomination
became the first in 163 years to be contested by another candidate when, on 29 May, local shopkeeper Abdul Arain stood in protest at a planning application for a
Sainsbury's Local
Sainsbury's Local (a trading name of Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd) is a chain of 820 convenience shops operated by the UK's second largest supermarket chain Sainsbury's.
History
In 1998, Sainsbury's piloted its first Local shop in Hammersmith. ...
branch in Cambridge's
Mill Road district, triggering a contest that would have to wait until an October ballot. Four days later, a group of Cambridge University
alumni
Alumni (: alumnus () or alumna ()) are former students or graduates of a school, college, or university. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for groups of women, and alums (: alum) or alumns (: alumn) as gender-neutral alternatives. Th ...
successfully drafted actor
Brian Blessed
Brian Blessed ( ; born 9 October 1936) is an English actor. He is known for his distinctive bushy beard, booming voice, and exuberant personality and performances. He portrayed PC "Fancy" Smith in ''Z-Cars''; Augustus in the 1976 BBC television ...
as an alternative candidate. On 20 June, socialist
barrister
A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...
Michael Mansfield became the third candidate to oppose Sainsbury. An election took place on 14 and 15 October 2011 in which Sainsbury won with 52% of the votes (2893 votes out of 5558) on a 2.5% turnout and he was confirmed to the position on 16 October 2011.
On 2 February 2024, the university announced that Sainsbury had advised of his intention to step down later in the year from his role as Chancellor.
Personal life
Sainsbury and his wife, Susan Carroll (née Reid), a former teacher, have three daughters. Lady Sainsbury is a Trustee of the
Royal Academy of Music
The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is one of the oldest music schools in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the firs ...
. She was appointed
DBE in the
2022 Birthday Honours
The 2022 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those ...
, for "services to the Arts,
particularly during Covid-19", described in the list as "Philanthropist". The family live in the Manor of Turville in
Turville,
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...
. The Manor once belonged to the abbey at St Albans, but was seized by the Crown in the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1547. The manor house has since been rebuilt as Turville Park, a fine stately home in the village.
Sainsbury's elder sister was Mrs Elizabeth Clark (19 July 1938 – 14 August 1977), and his younger sisters are Celia and Annabel. He is the nephew of
Alan Sainsbury. His cousins have included
Simon Sainsbury, Conservative peer
John Sainsbury, Baron Sainsbury of Preston Candover, KG, and former Conservative MP
Sir Tim Sainsbury. His great-grandparents, John James Sainsbury and
Mary Ann Staples, established a grocer's at 173
Drury Lane
Drury Lane is a street on the boundary between the Covent Garden and Holborn areas of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of London Borough of Camden, Camden and the southern part in the City o ...
in 1869 which became the British supermarket chain Sainsbury's.
Academic titles
* In 1994, Sainsbury was appointed as an Honorary
Fellow
A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...
of the
Royal Academy of Engineering
The Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) is the United Kingdom's national academy of engineering.
The Academy was founded in June 1976 as the Fellowship of Engineering with support from Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who became the first senio ...
.
[, raeng.org.uk. Accessed 8 September 2022.]
*In 2001, he was elected an international member of the
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...
.
*In 2003, he was elected to the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...
.
* In 2007, he was awarded an honorary degree in science by
University College London
University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...
.
*In 2007, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from
Heriot-Watt University
Heriot-Watt University () is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was established in 1821 as the School of Arts of Edinburgh, the world's first mechanics' institute, and was subsequently granted university status by roya ...
.
* In 2008, he was awarded an honorary degree in science by the
University of Bath
The University of Bath is a public research university in Bath, England. Bath received its royal charter in 1966 as Bath University of Technology, along with a number of other institutions following the Robbins Report. Like the University ...
.
*In 2008, he was made an honorary fellow of the
Royal Society
The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
.
See also
*
List of billionaires
''The World's Billionaires'' is an annual ranking of people who are billionaires, i.e., they are considered to have a net worth of US$1 billion or more, by the American business magazine ''Forbes''. The list was first published in March 1987. ...
References
External links
David Sainsbury, Lord Sainsbury of Turville Official WebsiteGatsby Charitable FoundationLord (David) Sainsbury interviewon
Desert Island Discs
''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942.
Each week a guest, called a " castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight audio recordin ...
Lord (David) Sainsbury: UK politics profileSPEAK – Profile of Lord (David) Sainsbury of TurvilleDavid Sainsbury Forbes.com: Forbes World's Richest PeopleDavid Sainsbury of Turville and Software PatentsThe Sainsbury Laboratory funded by The Sainsbury Family Charitable TrustsSainsbury Laboratory Cambridge UniversityThe Centre for Mental Health, funded by The Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sainsbury, David
1940 births
21st-century British philanthropists
Living people
Alumni of King's College, Cambridge
Chancellors of the University of Cambridge
Columbia Business School alumni
English Anglicans
English billionaires
English businesspeople in retailing
English philanthropists
Fellows of the Royal Society
Honorary Fellows of the British Academy
Honorary Fellows of the Royal Academy of Engineering
Honorary Fellows of the Royal Society
Labour Friends of Israel
Labour Party (UK) donors
Labour Party (UK) life peers
Liberal Democrats (UK) donors
Life peers created by Elizabeth II
People educated at Eton College
Presidents of the British Science Association
David
David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament.
The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...
Social Democratic Party (UK) politicians
International members of the American Philosophical Society
Peers retired under the House of Lords Reform Act 2014
New Labour