Irvine Laidlaw, Baron Laidlaw

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Irvine Laidlaw (2015)

Irvine Alan Stewart Laidlaw, Baron Laidlaw (born December 22, 1943 in Keith , Banffshire , Scotland ) is a Scottish businessman and former member of the House of Lords . He is considered Scotland's second richest businessman. He ranked 100th on the 2007 Sunday Times Rich List of the UK's richest people with an estimated fortune of £ 730 million.

life and career

Laidlaw was born the eldest of three children in a Banffshire family; the family owned a textile business in Banffshire. When Laidlaw was 22 years old, his father Roy, a Tory Councilor, died. Laidlaw attended Merchiston Castle School in Edinburgh , the University of Leeds and Columbia Business School in New York City , where he graduated with an MBA in 1967 . He then spent two years in the USA . He started working as a financial analyst for the US publisher Doubleday , where he learned his sales and marketing skills. Laidlaw was quickly promoted to chief executive of the Doubleday Book Club ; at the age of thirty and bought a small newspaper publisher in 1973.

In 1974 he founded the Institute for International Research (IIR). In 1978 the Institute for International Research entered the conference business and after the success of its first two events, its focus on conferences quickly changed. In 1979 the first conferences were held in Europe and Singapore , and by 1980 offices were opened in Singapore and Hong Kong . The conference activities expanded to Malaysia , Indonesia , Thailand and the Philippines . In 1986 there were seven conference offices and increasing expansion in Europe, Scandinavia , North and South America, the Middle East and Australasia over the past decade resulted in a total of 46 companies, the largest growth of any group of its kind. The company has now also opened offices in Eastern Europe and Portugal .

In 1984 the IIR switched to exhibitions with the opening of an exhibition company in Singapore and now has a large portfolio of major exhibitions around the world, including the Monaco Yacht Show and IPEX .

During the 1990s, Laidlaw repeatedly expressed a desire to become a billionaire, but failed to do so. In 2005 the Institute for International Research (IIR) sold it to Informa for an estimated price of £ 775 million . There Laidlaw had since 1978 Chairman ( Chairman have been).

In January 2005, Laidlaw expressed an interest in working with Newcastle City Council to establish an Academy School in west Norwich to replace two existing schools. The Excelsior Academy opened in September 2008 in new premises leased from Newcastle City Council. Laidlaw did not take on an important role and left this to his board of directors and the headmaster.

Since 1997 he has been chairman ( chairman ) of the Abbey Business Centers . Laidlaw has been a member of the Wall Street Global Advisory Board since 2000 . In 2003 he founded the Laidlaw Youth Trust .

Membership in the House of Lords

Laidlaw was named a Life Peer as Baron Laidlaw , of Rothiemay in Banffshire on June 14, 2004 . He gave his inaugural address on September 10, 2004. According to a 2007 report by the British Electoral Commission, he has supported the Conservative Party so far with £ 2,990,532.20. Laidlaw, who lists Monaco as his primary residence, is considered a tax evader in the UK . In April 2007, it was criticized that Laidlaw still failed to meet his tax liability in Great Britain, although he was a member of the House of Lords . Laidlaw took part in debates in the House of Lords. Faced with an expected tax liability of £ 50 million, Laidlow filed for a leave of absence in 2007 , which was granted to him. He last spoke up on December 4, 2006. On April 16, 2007, he last took part in a vote.

In an exchange of letters with Dennis Stevenson, Baron Stevenson of Coddenham , chairman of the House of Lords Appointments Commission , Laidlaw expressed his regret at his actions and his earlier statements regarding his return to Britain. He gave various private reasons that would have made a longer return to Great Britain impossible. On April 15, 2010, Laidlaw announced that she would not be taking up residence in the UK for tax reasons . For these reasons, he lost his status as a member of the legislature , but was able to keep his title.

Laidlaw hit the headlines

Scandal in Monte Carlo

In April 2008, Laidlaw was the target of an undercover operation by investigative journalist Mazher Mahmood for The News of the World newspaper . Laidlaw was secretly filmed with four prostitutes and a male gigolo in the presidential suite ( £ 6,000 a night) of the Hermitage Hotel in Monte Carlo . He paid £ 27,000 for this escort. According to the article, Laidlaw entertained the prostitutes who drank champagne, drank wine and cocaine before indulging in lesbian, dominatrix games, and bondage sex games. Laidlaw himself did not use drugs. The Vogue -Model Michelle Vignardi, one of the girls told the newspaper The News of the World that it "crazy" was a party, but noted that Laidlaw, the straight from prostate cancer had recovered and a heart attack, took no cocaine. But she added, “Irvine drank and took the sex drug Viagra . He (f *** ed) me and another girl. He can still (f ***). He knew the other girl from a previous party, she knew exactly what he liked. He liked to watch the male model, called Ben, fuck the girls. I think that's why he was there. Every time Ben got a drink, Irvine would beg, "Come back!" We put on a lesbian show for him too. I do everything except unnatural things. I am very straightforward, you know! ”. Vignardi added that she was charging £ 3,000 for a night of sex and revealed that Laidlaw paid the bill for her return to London and a chauffeured limousine from Nice airport .

Laidlaw sent a written confession to The News of the World , in which he admitted that he had been fighting his sex addiction all his life. Laidlaw wrote: “I've been struggling against my sex addiction my entire adult life. This is comparable to other better known forms of addiction such as drugs, alcohol and gambling addiction. Many people suffer from different types of this disease. There is no cure for it, and self-help is rarely successful. But having this addiction is not an excuse for my behavior. I've been in therapy a few times, but I haven't worked hard enough on it. I should have been stronger to resist the temptation. I hope that in time people will be able to understand and forgive me as I lead this difficult personal battle. ”Laidlaw then embarked on a six-week addiction program in South Africa , not far from the Goede Hoop, his retreat outside Cape Town and donated £ 1 million to other victims. The British political advisor Timothy Bell, Baron Bell, took care of the public damage limitation .

Helicopter accident

On August 3, 2009, Laidlaw was behind the wheel of a helicopter when it had to make an emergency landing on Little Deer Isle . He had just taken off from Laidlaw's yacht Lady Christine . The four passengers could safely disembark and wade ashore. An eyewitness testified that he did not expect anyone to escape alive.

Charity projects

In 2004 Laidlaw announced that he would donate the majority of his wealth to disadvantaged Scots over the next 20 to 30 years. His main vehicle was the Laidlaw Youth Trust (previously the Laidlaw Youth Project), which supports foundations in Scotland for the benefit of children and young people. The Trust was reported to be closing in the summer of 2009 after having paid over £ 6 million in support of youth work in Scotland.

Laidlaw also donated:

  • £ 2 million to The Prince's Trust
  • After the Moray Council announced the closure of Rothiemay Primary School, Laidlaw donated funds to a parenting campaign that resulted in 21 schools remaining open
  • £ 40,000 to Keith Grammar School to prepare older students for the world of work.
  • Merchiston Castle School , his previous school, received £ 1,000,000 ; although he did not like the attendance there, he gave in to the headmaster's persuasion and donated the amount. The new six-class building at the school, which was built with the help of his donation, was named Laidlaw House . Laidlaw also donated £ 1,000,000 to Merchiston for scholarships to academically or musically gifted state school students who would otherwise not be able to attend school. Currently (as of May 2010) there are seven Laidlaw scholars in Merchiston.

Further offices and honors

Laidlaw holds several honorary doctorates. In 2002 he was awarded a Doctor of Laws ( Hon DL ) from the University of St Andrews . In 2007 he received an Honorary Doctorate ( Hon DHC ) from the University of Aberdeen .

family

Laidlaw and his second wife Christine own a winery on the French Riviera, an apartment in Monte Carlo, and an estate near Cape Town , South Africa . They live there alternately.

You own another house in London valued at £ 2 million, a Scottish mansion and a country house in Hampshire . At the time of purchase (2005) of 23,200 sqm De Goede Hoop Estate in Noordhoek , South Africa (bought for 106 million Rand ) it was the most expensive house in the country. Christine Laidlaw shares Laidlaw's passion for sailing . She also rides; for example, in April 2008 she paid £ 200,000 at a South African auction for a cold blood named White Hills. It was bred by Mary Slack's Wilgerbosdrift Stud and named after her previous home. Christine Laidlaw renamed it Noordhoek Flyer after her South African residence. It won the major Cape Argus Guineas (Grade 1).

Hobbies

Laidlaw regularly takes part in historic car races around the world, with his Porsche 904 GTS, Porsche 904/6, Maserati 250S & Maserati 6CM. Laidlaw won a medal in the Scottish amateur race with a Ford Focus ST . In 2007 Laidlaw added a 1001 hp Bugatti Veyron to his car collection, which can sometimes be seen between Noordhoek and Cape Town on the world-famous Chapman's Peak Drive . Laidlaw won the Key West Regatta twice with his Swan 60 cruiser-racer Highland Fling . In 2003 he started a world tour with the motor yacht Lady Christine built by Oceanco .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Sunday Times Rich List 2007 online edition
  2. ↑ How short-selling profited the Tories in: The Guardian of September 28, 2008
  3. ^ Tory donor criticized over tax status Article in: The Guardian, June 7, 2007
  4. ^ Tory peer Lord Laidlaw seeks treatment for sex addiction in: The Times, April 27, 2008
  5. ^ Row over Tories' offshore donor, Irvine Laidlaw in: The Times, December 16, 2007
  6. ↑ Minutes of Proceedings of Tuesday 25 May 2010 minutes of the meeting on the House of Lords website
  7. ↑ Minutes of Proceedings of Tuesday 25 May 2010 Minutes of the House of Lords meeting of 25 May 2010
  8. ^ A b My life with Lord Sex Addict: An intimate and revealing insight into Laidlaw's money-soaked world in: Daily Mail, May 4, 2008
  9. ↑ a b Top Tory Lord Laidlaw admits prostitute sex romps in: Daily Record of April 28, 2008
  10. ↑ a b The Times (South Africa) : I'm sick, says sex-mad tycoon ; Article of December 27, 2008
  11. ↑ Laidlaw reveals his live as a sex addict article in The Scotsman April 28, 2008
  12. ↑ Tories' biggest donor Lord Laidlaw admits to being a sex addict after orgy expose in: Daily Mail of April 28, 2008
  13. ↑ LADY CHRISTINE HELICOPTER CRASH blog entry from August 4, 2009
  14. ↑ Tycoon Laidlaw to give away fortune article in: The Scotsman from November 25, 2006
personal data
SURNAME Laidlaw, Irvine, Baron Laidlaw
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Laidlaw, Irvine Alan Stewart, Baron Laidlaw
BRIEF DESCRIPTION scottish businessman and life peer
DATE OF BIRTH December 22, 1943
PLACE OF BIRTH Keith (Scotland)