Ben Goldsmith has used his personal wealth to support both philanthropic and political projects in the area of the environment and sustainability.
19 Facts About Ben Goldsmith
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Ben Goldsmith has an older sister, Jemima Goldsmith; an older brother, Zac Goldsmith; and several half-siblings.
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Ben Goldsmith's uncle Teddy Goldsmith was a co-founder of the Green Party UK and of The Ecologist.
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Ben Goldsmith attended Eton College, an independent English public school, and like his billionaire father, did not attend university.
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Ben Goldsmith began his career at private client stockbroker Hargreave-Hale and Co.
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In 2015, Ben Goldsmith launched Menhaden Resource Efficiency Plc, a London-listed thematic investment trust focused on the efficient use of energy and resources.
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The book explored how, struggling to comprehend the shocking death of his teenage daughter Iris, Ben Goldsmith found solace, meaning and hope in the dramatic rebounding of nature on his Somerset farm.
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In 2003, Ben Goldsmith co-founded the UK Environmental Funders Network, along with Jon Cracknell.
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Ben Goldsmith described EFN as being "designed to facilitate discussion and foster collaboration" among those interested in funding environmental initiatives, particularly those addressing large-scale problems like global warming.
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In 2008, Ben Goldsmith set up The Conservation Collective, a growing global network of local environmental foundations rooted in their communities covering regions from Devon and Tuscany, islands such as Mallorca, Ibiza and Formentera and Lamu and countries including Pakistan and Barbados.
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In 2016, Ben Goldsmith was appointed a trustee of the Children's Investment Fund Foundation, one of the largest environmental foundations in Europe, founded by financier and philanthropist Chris Hohn.
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Complaints about the appointment included comments that Ben Goldsmith is a member of the "urban elite", and that though interested in the environment he had no experience with environmental issues facing farmers in the United Kingdom.
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In 2019, Ben Goldsmith was one of the first funders to support Beaver Trust, a new national charity for beavers.
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Ben Goldsmith helped to advance government policy to recognise beavers as a native species and give them legal protected status in England in 2022.
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In 2021, Ben Goldsmith persuaded London Mayor Sadiq Khan to establish the Rewilding London taskforce.
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In subsequent years, Ben Goldsmith has contributed to the UK Conservative Party as well as individual candidates including Conservative MP Michael Gove and the so-called "Notting Hill set of Conservative modernisers".
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Ben Goldsmith is chair of the Conservative Environment Network which he co-founded in 2010.
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In 2016, he campaigned for his brother Zac Ben Goldsmith who was running for mayor of London.
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Ben Goldsmith later announced that he was filing for divorce citing his wife's adultery.