The Duke of Westminster, the patriarch of one London’s wealthiest family businesses, has died of a heart attack.
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The sixth duke died at the age of 64 after becoming ill at his Abbeystead Estate in Lancashire, northwest of Manchester.
“It is with the greatest sadness that we can confirm that the Duke of Westminster, Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor (64) died.at Royal Preston Hospital”, a family spokeswoman said late on Tuesday.
The former Duke was the richest property developer in the United Kingdom through his company the Grosvenor Estates, which owns land in Oxford, Cheshire and Scotland as well as vast swathes of property in central London.
“What I find so interesting about the UAE in particular is how they’ve risen to the challenge of becoming very worldwide in their outlook and the way they’re doing business”, the duke said at the time.
The duke’s fortune was estimated at $10.8bn (£8.3bn) by Forbes magazine, making him the world’s 68th richest person and the UK’s third.
Cavendish Grosvenor had inherited the title aged 27, in 1979, along with hundreds of acres in two of London’s richest districts, Mayfair and Belgravia, and thousands more in Scotland, Spain and elsewhere.
His father was known for taking his responsibilities as one of Britain’s wealthiest men and biggest landowners seriously.
As well as his father’s title, he will also inherit the family seat, Eaton Hall in Cheshire.
A year and a half later, Hugh attended Prince George’s christening after being chosen as the youngest of the royal baby’s seven godparents.
But he also had an awareness of the good fortune of his birth, once telling an interviewer that if he had had a choice he would preferred to have been born a “Joe Bloggs” without his huge wealth.
The Duke is one member of the aristocracy who appears to have shunned the spotlight and the media were banned from his birthday bash.
The Duke leaves behind his wife, Natalia Grosvenor, Dowager Duchess of Westminster, four children and four grandchildren.
The family also owns rural estates in the United Kingdom and Spain, and property investments in the U.S., Canada and Asia.
A Clarence House spokesman said The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall are “deeply shocked and greatly saddened” by the sudden death of their friend the Duke of Westminster.
Her Majesty The Queen has written a private letter of condolence that will be send to the Duke’s family.
A private man, he was forced to abandon his dream of a career as a professional soldier when he was 22 and became trustee of the Grosvenor Estate.
Through his Westminster Foundation, he donated to more than 1,500 charities, and once spent $5 million on his son’s 21 birthday party. “I can’t sell. It doesn’t belong to me”, he once said.
“He has to put back what he has been given”.
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Hugh has three sisters, who also inherit trust funds: Lady Edwina, who is married to TV historian Dan Snow, and Lady Viola, who is a year younger than him.
