At the time, the new Duke told the Chester Chronicle: “The party was simply fantastic – a birthday and a party I will never forget”.
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For years, the Sunday Times Rich List ranked the duke as Britain’s wealthiest man, though in recent years he lost the crown to some of the world’s super-rich who based themselves in the U.K. This year the newspaper estimated his wealth at 9.35 billion pounds ($12 billion).
He owned 190 acres in Belgravia, adjacent to Buckingham Palace and one of London’s most expensive areas, as well as thousands of acres in Scotland and Spain.
Grosvenor has also developed commercial schemes, such as Liverpool One shopping centre, which, when completed in 2008, was the largest regeneration project in Liverpool for decades, as well as a number of schemes in Edinburgh, Southampton and Oxford.
The late Duke of Westminster tragically died yesterday at Royal Preston Hospital in Lancashire meaning under rules of primogeniture, his son will assume the family estate.
His fortune, including the family seat, Eaton Hall near Chester, now goes to 25-year-old Hugh, whose previous title was Earl Grosvenor. He studied land management at Newcastle University and is now working as an account manager for Bio Bean, a company which converts waste coffee grounds into biomass pellets. He did however, attend Ellesmere College, a public school in Shropshire for his secondary education.
He started working at the Grosvenor Group – a property business – in 2014 and worked in every office around the world, including the San Francisco and Hong Kong bureaus. He hosted about 800 guests, including Prince Harry, at the “black tie and neon” bash, where comedian Michael McIntyre and hip-hop duo Rizzle Kicks topped the bill.
Hugh said at the time that the expense was worth it.
He told the Chronicle at the time: “The party was simply incredible – a birthday and a party I will never forget”.
“It is the beginning of a new era in my life and I look forward to the challenges that lie ahead”.
The duke’s estate said the family had asked “for privacy and understanding at this very hard time”. The family lived at Ely Lodge for many years and were very much part of the community.
He was close with Prince Charles and knew Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, while his son Hugh is godfather to Kate Middleton and Prince William’s son Prince George (three).
The Normans introduced the common law to the United Kingdom in 1066, and it puts male children ahead of female children, irrespective of age.
Hugh Richard Louis Grosvenor in 2013.
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Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor, the Duke of Westminster (L) died in his home at the age of 64.
