David Barclay, a mysterious and low-key billionaire in Britain, died of illness on the 13th at the age of 86. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also sent a message of condolences on social media Twitter on the same day.
“With high respect, he said goodbye to Sir Barclays, who saved a great newspaper and created thousands of jobs across the UK.”
According to the Guardian on the 13th, David Barclay, a media tycoon with the British Daily Telegraph group, and his twin brother Frederick Barclay jointly manage a huge business empire, covering the hotel, shipping, retail and newspaper industries.
According to the report, David and Frederick are almost identical, whether they look, dress or lifestyle. In his obituary on David’s death, Frederick said, “We have experienced a lot together.
For better or worse, he is like my right hand, I am like his left hand.” According to the 2020 Rich List released by the Sunday Times, the Barclays are expected to be worth £7 billion.
Like his brother, David Barclay paid special attention to protecting his privacy during his lifetime and rarely spoke in public. He once said: “We never talk about ourselves in public, boast about our talents, or show off our successes.
We always say that we are lucky to have what we are today.
The Barclays first started in the hotel industry. Since operating the Hotel Gardo in London in 1968, they have opened 17 hotels in the next decade. In 1983, they bought Eleman Shipping Group, one of the largest shipping companies in the world, for £43 million.
Six years later, Ellerman’s bars and breweries alone made the Barclays four times more money than they bought Ellerman.
After that, the two brothers began to enter the newspaper industry again.
They bought the newspaper The European, which Robert Maxwell tried to publish all over Europe in 1992, then the Scottish newspaper in 1995, and finally bought the Daily Telegraph for £665 million in 2004.
The Barclays brothers were knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2000 for their outstanding contributions to medical research and children’s philanthropy.
They formed the United Philanthropic Foundation in 1989, through which more than £15 million has been donated to two local hospitals so far.
David Barclay had two marriages before his death, leaving four sons and nine grandchildren.
