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{{Short description|British businessman and politician (1944–2022)}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2014}}
{{EngvarB|date=November 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2022}}
⚫
'''Peter John de Savary''' (born 11 July 1944) is a British entrepreneur and a former Chairman of [[Millwall F.C.]] In 1997, ''[[The Independent]]'' gave his fortune as £24 million<ref name = Independent/> and in the 1999 [[Sunday Times Rich List]], he was placed in 971st place with an estimated fortune of £21 million, but was not listed in the top thousand places in subsequent editions.
{{Infobox person
| image =
| imagesize =
| caption =
| birth_name = Peter de Savary
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1944|7|11|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Burnham-on-Crouch]], [[Essex]], England
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2022|10|30|1944|7|11|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Chelsea, London]], England
| other_names =
| occupation = {{hlist|Businessman|Yachtsman|Football Chairman|}}
| education = [[Charterhouse School]]
| spouse =
}}

'''Peter John de Savary''' (11 July 1944 – 30 October 2022) was a British businessman in shipping, oil and property. He once owned or managed 13 shipyards around the globe and had global oil-trading and refuelling businesses. He was the Chairman of [[Millwall F.C.]]

⚫
In 1997, ''[[The Independent]]'' reported his fortune as £24 million,<ref name = Independent/> in the 1999 [[Sunday Times Rich List]], he was placed in 971st place with an estimated fortune of £21 million and in 2002 £34 million.<ref name=":0" /> He was not listed in the top thousand places in subsequent editions.


==Biography==
==Biography==
⚫
De Savary is the son of a French-born [[Essex]] farmer,<ref name = Independent>Garnier, Clare (7 June 1997) [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/de-savary-disinherits-his-daughters-1254475.html "De Savary disinherits his daughters"], ''The Independent''. Retrieved 16 June 2013</ref> and was educated in Britain at [[Charterhouse School|Charterhouse]], [[Godalming]], from which he was expelled at the age of 16.<ref name = FT>Stock, Jon (15 July 2000) [https://web.archive.org/web/20110309050225/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/4809833/Peter-the-pirate-jumps-ship-again.html "Peter the pirate jumps ship again"], ''Financial Times''. Retrieved 16 July 2013</ref> He then moved to Canada where his divorced mother and stepfather lived and did gardening, baby-sitting and children's private tuition.<ref name = FT/><ref name = CNN/> At the age of 18, with his wife Marcia<ref name = Adventurer>{{Cite news|url=http://217.199.187.62/hungerfordvirtualmuseum.co.uk/images/phocagallery/HHA_Archives/19851121%20NWN%20Charmed%20life%20of%20de%20Savory.pdf|title=The charmed life of a self-confessed adventurer|date=21 November 1985|work=Newbury Weekly News|access-date=11 May 2016}}</ref> and daughter, he moved back to the UK to work for his father.<ref name = CNN/> During a visit to Canada in 1969 he took over a small import-export agency, Afrex, that did business in Africa.<ref name = CNN/><ref>Roberts, Alison (23 April 2004) "Leave my millions to my five daughters? You must be joking", ''The Evening Standard''</ref> On a subsequent flight to Nigeria he met the brother of the [[President of Nigeria]] with whom he went into business supplying wheat, flour, steel, cement and other goods to [[Nigeria]] and other African countries making him a millionaire by the age of 30.<ref name = CNN>Schuch, Beverly (7 April 2001) [http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0104/07/pin.00.html "Peter de Savary Turns His Passions Into Profits"], ''CNN''. Retrieved 16 July 2013</ref>


⚫
=== Early life ===
The bulk of his business career has been spent in the shipping and oil sectors; he once owned or managed 13 shipyards around the globe, still retaining one shipyard in the United Kingdom, and he still has a global oil-trading and refuelling business.
⚫
De Savary was the son of a French-born [[Essex]] farmer,<ref name="Independent">Garnier, Clare (7 June 1997) [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/de-savary-disinherits-his-daughters-1254475.html "De Savary disinherits his daughters"], ''The Independent''. Retrieved 16 June 2013</ref> and was educated in Britain at [[Charterhouse School|Charterhouse]], [[Godalming]], from which he was expelled at the age of 16.<ref name="FT">Stock, Jon (15 July 2000) [https://web.archive.org/web/20110309050225/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/4809833/Peter-the-pirate-jumps-ship-again.html "Peter the pirate jumps ship again"], ''Financial Times''. Retrieved 16 July 2013</ref> He moved to Canada where his mother and stepfather lived; he did gardening, baby-sitting and children's private tuition.<ref name="FT" /><ref name="CNN" /> At the age of 18, with his wife Marcia,<ref name="Adventurer">{{Cite news|url=http://217.199.187.62/hungerfordvirtualmuseum.co.uk/images/phocagallery/HHA_Archives/19851121%20NWN%20Charmed%20life%20of%20de%20Savory.pdf|title=The charmed life of a self-confessed adventurer|date=21 November 1985|work=Newbury Weekly News|access-date=11 May 2016}}</ref> he moved back to the UK to work for his father.<ref name="CNN" /> During a visit to Canada in 1969 he took over a small import-export agency, Afrex, that did business in Africa.<ref name="CNN" /><ref>Roberts, Alison (23 April 2004) "Leave my millions to my five daughters? You must be joking", ''The Evening Standard''</ref> On a subsequent flight to Nigeria he met the brother of the [[President of Nigeria]] with whom he went into business supplying wheat, flour, steel, cement and other goods to [[Nigeria]] and other African countries making him a millionaire by the age of 30.<ref name="CNN">Schuch, Beverly (7 April 2001) [http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0104/07/pin.00.html "Peter de Savary Turns His Passions Into Profits"], ''CNN''. Retrieved 16 July 2013</ref>

De Savary purchased a part-ownership in a [[Kuwait]]-registered oil company called Artoc. With others he also started a bank in [[Nassau, Bahamas]]. The bank specialised in investing in property, shipping, oil refineries and coal mining in South America. The bank was not very successful and in 1980 lost $64 million. De Savary negotiated a deal with the Italian financier [[Roberto Calvi]] for Calvi to buy a 20% share in Artoc but Calvi was found hanged under [[Blackfriars Bridge]] in London in 1984 and de Savary left Artoc.<ref name=":0" />


===Clubs and property===
===Clubs and property===
[[File:Skibo Castle (geograph 3619425).jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|[[Skibo Castle]] in [[Sutherland]], Scotland.]]
[[File:Skibo Castle (geograph 3619425).jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|[[Skibo Castle]] in [[Sutherland]], Scotland.]]
His first venture into hospitality was the St. James' Clubs in the late 1970s, in Los Angeles, London, Paris and [[Antigua]], which he sold in the late 1980s to finance the £4m purchase of [[Skibo Castle]]. De Savary built up a large business empire in the 1980s, with property interests including [[Land's End]] and [[John o' Groats]].<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/4/newsid_2538000/2538261.stm "1987: Millionaire's big plans for English landmark"], ''BBC News''</ref>
His first venture into hospitality was the St. James' Clubs in the late 1970s, in [[Los Angeles]], London, Paris and [[Antigua]], which he sold in the late 1980s to finance the £4m purchase of [[Skibo Castle]]. De Savary built up a large business empire in the 1980s, with property interests including [[Land's End]] and [[John o' Groats]].<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/4/newsid_2538000/2538261.stm "1987: Millionaire's big plans for English landmark"], ''BBC News''</ref>


However, in the early 1990s economic downturn his empire collapsed – he sold both Land's End and John o' Groats in 1991 for an undisclosed sum to the businessman Graham Ferguson Lacey, and his holding company Placeton went bankrupt in 1994 with debts of £200 million by one source<ref name = FT/> and £715 million by another.<ref name = Property>Clancy, Ray (10 October 2008) [http://www.propertycommunity.com/property-in-the-uk/41-peter-john-de-savary-the-life-and-times.html "Peter John de Savary : The man behind a thousand ventures"], ''Property Community''. Retrieved 16 June 2013</ref>
However, in the early 1990s economic downturn his empire collapsed – he sold both Land's End and John o' Groats in 1991 for an undisclosed sum to the businessman Graham Ferguson Lacey, and his holding company Placeton went bankrupt in 1994 with debts of £200 million by one source<ref name = FT/> and £715 million by another.<ref name = Property>Clancy, Ray (10 October 2008) [http://www.propertycommunity.com/property-in-the-uk/41-peter-john-de-savary-the-life-and-times.html "Peter John de Savary : The man behind a thousand ventures"], ''Property Community''. Retrieved 16 June 2013</ref>

In 1997, he bought Vernon Court, a 14,000-square-foot in [[Newport, Rhode Island|Newport RI]]. He planned to develop it into a members-only hotel similar to his Skibo Castle in Scotland. However, due to objection by neighbours the plans were dropped and the mansion was sold the following year.<ref>{{cite web |title=Newport Cottages Offer Bargain-Basement Prices |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB864950081135032500 |website=The Wall Street Journal |access-date=17 March 2022}}</ref>


===2000s===
===2000s===
His business activities since 2000 concentrated on property development and hotels, with a number of major country house hotels incorporating golf courses. De Savary saw a niche for the affluent; leisure properties that were small enough to make guests feel as though they were on their own private estate, but equipped with all the facilities of the world's great hotels. His first such development was The Carnegie Club at [[Skibo Castle]] in Scotland, the venue for [[Madonna (entertainer)|Madonna]] and [[Guy Ritchie]]'s wedding. This was sold in 2003 to [[Ellis Short]].<ref>(28 May 2009) [https://www.theguardian.com/football/2009/may/28/ellis-short-sunderland-owner-profile "Ellis Short: all you need to know about Sunderland's man at the helm"], ''The Guardian''. Retrieved 16 June 2013</ref> Through his wife Lana's company, Havana West,<ref name = Oxford>Koening, Chris (21 July 2011) [http://www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/business/profiles/9145405.Old_Swan_and_Minster_Mill/ "Old Swan and Minster Mill"], ''The Oxford Times''. Retrieved 16 June 2013</ref> other similar developments have included: the Cherokee Plantation in [[South Carolina]]; [[Stapleford Park]] and [[Bovey Castle]], both in England; and Carnegie Abbey in [[Rhode Island]]. Each is a private club with golf courses and other amenities — clay pigeon shooting, falconry, horseback riding, tennis — depending on what fits with the club's local environment.{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}}
His business activities since 2000 concentrated on property development and hotels, with a number of major country house hotels incorporating golf courses. De Savary saw a niche for the affluent: leisure properties that were small enough to make guests feel as though they were on their own private estate, but equipped with all the facilities of the world's great hotels. His first such development was The Carnegie Club at [[Skibo Castle]] in Scotland, the venue for [[Madonna (entertainer)|Madonna]] and [[Guy Ritchie]]'s wedding. This was sold in 2003 to [[Ellis Short]].<ref>(28 May 2009) [https://www.theguardian.com/football/2009/may/28/ellis-short-sunderland-owner-profile "Ellis Short: all you need to know about Sunderland's man at the helm"], ''The Guardian''. Retrieved 16 June 2013</ref> Through his wife Lana's company, Havana West,<ref name = Oxford>Koening, Chris (21 July 2011) [http://www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/business/profiles/9145405.Old_Swan_and_Minster_Mill/ "Old Swan and Minster Mill"], ''The Oxford Times''. Retrieved 16 June 2013</ref> other similar developments have included: the Cherokee Plantation in [[South Carolina]]; [[Stapleford Park]] and [[Bovey Castle]], both in England; and Carnegie Abbey in [[Rhode Island]]. Each is a private club with golf courses and other amenities — clay pigeon shooting, falconry, horse riding, tennis — depending on what fits with the club's local environment.{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}}
⚫
Again with Lana's Havana West company<ref name = Oxford/> he founded the Abaco Club at Winding Bay in Abaco, Bahamas, building a spectacular golf course on the beautiful Winding Bay beach and bluff.


⚫
Again with Lana's Havana West company<ref name = Oxford/> he founded the Abaco Club at Winding Bay in Abaco, [[Bahamas]], building a golf course at the location.
⚫
He bought four properties in Grenada in the Caribbean, where he was developing a marina and resort village.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/marcbabej/2013/02/01/the-700-million-vision-to-put-grenada-on-the-global-luxury-map/#6c9e006c457e|title=The $700 Million Vision to Put Grenada on the Global Luxury Map|last=Babej|first=Marc E.|website=Forbes|access-date=2016-05-09}}</ref>


⚫
He bought four properties in [[Grenada]] in the Caribbean, where he developed a marina and resort village.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/marcbabej/2013/02/01/the-700-million-vision-to-put-grenada-on-the-global-luxury-map/#6c9e006c457e|title=The $700 Million Vision to Put Grenada on the Global Luxury Map|last=Babej|first=Marc E.|website=Forbes|access-date=9 May 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Welcome to de Savary Properties in Grenada, West Indies |url=https://desavarypropertiesgrenada.com/ |website=De Savary Properties Granada |access-date=17 March 2022}}</ref>
'''Vanderbilt Hall'''<br>

In late 2009, de Savary purchased Vanderbilt Hall, a mansion hotel located in Newport, Rhode Island. He added a small collection of ''American Illustration'' artworks to the property from the American Illustrators Gallery, New York, including a piece by [[Howard Chandler Christy]] titled "[[Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair]]". The painting depicts [[Stephen Foster]] composing the song of the same name. Other artists on display were [[Bradshaw Crandell]], [[William Soare]], [[Phil Berry]], [[R. C. Kauffmann]], [[Julian De Miskey]], [[Constantin Alajalov]], [[Helen Dryden]], [[John La Gatta|John Lagatta]], [[George O. Hughes|George Hughes]], [[Thomas Webb (artist)|Thomas Webb]], [[Rico Tomaso]], [[Gilbert Bundy]], [[Hans Flato]], [[Carl Burger]], [[Rolf Armstrong]] and [[Earl Bergey]]. The property was sold to Grace Hotels in 2010.
In late 2009, de Savary purchased a former YMCA located in Newport, RI, that had been converted into Vanderbilt Hall hotel.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Onorato |first1=Ronald |title=AIA Guide to Newport |date=2007 |publisher=AIAre Architectural Forum |location=Providence, RI |isbn= 978-0979272707|page=110}}</ref> He added a small collection of ''American Illustration'' artworks to the property from the American Illustrators Gallery, New York, including a piece by [[Howard Chandler Christy]] titled "[[Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair]]". The painting depicts [[Stephen Foster]] composing the song of the same name. Other artists on display included [[Bradshaw Crandell]], [[Constantin Alajalov]], [[Helen Dryden]], [[John La Gatta|John Lagatta]], [[George O. Hughes|George Hughes]], [[Thomas Webb (artist)|Thomas Webb]], [[Rico Tomaso]], [[Carl Burger]] and [[Rolf Armstrong]].{{citation needed|date=June 2022}} The property was sold to Grace Hotels in 2010, then to Auberge Resorts Collection in 2018.


===Yachting===
===Yachting===
He led the British sailing team in its challenge for the [[1983 America's Cup|America's Cup in 1983]] but his contender, ''[[Victory '83|Victory 83]]'', was beaten by ''[[Australia II]]'' in the final heat.
De Savary led the British sailing team in its challenge for the [[1983 America's Cup|America's Cup in 1983]] but his contender, ''[[Victory '83|Victory 83]]'', was beaten by ''[[Australia II]]'' in the final heat. In 1992 de Savary withdrew from the race as he could not raise the £2 million necessary to compete.<ref name=":0" />


He used the motoryacht ''Kalizma'' (formerly home to [[Elizabeth Taylor]] and [[Richard Burton]] during filming in London, named for their children) as a support vessel for the America's Cup races, but has since sold the ship. He also once owned the luxury yacht MY ''Land's End''. In 1988 he founded Pendennis Shipyard in Falmouth, Cornwall, which builds and restores luxury yachts. He was responsible for the development of the new housing complex called Port Pendennis, also in Falmouth, which adjoins the shipyard there. He is also a sponsor of the Grenada Sailing Festival.{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}} He has raced for many years in the Bucket Regatta in Newport, Rhode Island, and St Barts in the Caribbean. He was awarded the trophy "Spirit of the Bucket" in 2010.
De Savary used the motor yacht ''Kalizma'' (formerly home to [[Elizabeth Taylor]] and [[Richard Burton]] during filming in London, named for their children) as a support vessel for the America's Cup races, but has since sold the ship. He also once owned the luxury yacht MY ''Land's End''. In 1988 he founded Pendennis Shipyard in Falmouth, Cornwall, which builds and restores luxury yachts. He was responsible for the development of the new housing complex called Port Pendennis, also in Falmouth, which adjoins the shipyard there. He was also a sponsor of the Grenada Sailing Festival.{{Citation needed|date=April 2010}}
De Savary raced for many years in the Bucket Regatta in Newport, Rhode Island, and St Barts in the Caribbean. He was awarded the trophy "Spirit of the Bucket" in 2010. He was a member of the [[Royal Thames Yacht Club]] and the [[New York Yacht Club]].


===Football===
===Football===
In November 2005, he succeeded [[Theo Paphitis]] as chairman of Millwall Holdings plc and as chairman of [[Millwall F.C.]] [[Stewart Till]] succeeded him on 3 May 2006 as the football club chairman, and de Savary remained as chairman of Millwall Holdings plc until October 2006.
In November 2005, he succeeded [[Theo Paphitis]] as chairman of Millwall Holdings plc and as chairman of [[Millwall F.C.]] [[Stewart Till]] succeeded him on 3 May 2006 as the football club chairman, and de Savary remained as chairman of Millwall Holdings plc until October 2006.


In March 2011, de Savary was linked with a deal to purchase the financially stricken League One club [[Plymouth Argyle F.C]].. However, de Savary denied any interest in buying the club, which was eventually purchased by [[Plymouth City Council]] the following October.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-15354187 "Plymouth Argyle Home Park stadium deal agreed"], ''[[BBC News]]''. Retrieved 19 July 2014</ref>
In March 2011, de Savary was linked with a deal to purchase the financially stricken League One club [[Plymouth Argyle F.C]]. However, de Savary denied any interest in buying the club, which was eventually purchased by [[Plymouth City Council]] the following October.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-15354187 "Plymouth Argyle Home Park stadium deal agreed"], ''[[BBC News]]''. Retrieved 19 July 2014</ref>


==Political activity==
==Political activity==
In 1997 De Savary stood as a [[Referendum Party]] candidate for [[Falmouth and Camborne (UK Parliament constituency)|Falmouth and Camborne]]. He came fourth receiving 3,534 (6.6%) votes.<ref name="Kernow Politico">{{cite web |title=Falmouth-Camborne Parliamentary election results 1950-2005 |url=https://psephologyfromtheperiphery.wordpress.com/past-election-results/falmouth-camborne-parliamentary-election-results-1950-2005/ |website=Kernowpolitico: notes from the periphery |publisher=KERNOWPOLITICO |language=en |date=2014-12-29}}</ref>
In 1997 De Savary stood as a [[Referendum Party]] candidate for [[Falmouth and Camborne (UK Parliament constituency)|Falmouth and Camborne]]. He came fourth receiving 3,534 (6.6%) votes.<ref name="Kernow Politico">{{cite web |title=Falmouth-Camborne Parliamentary election results 1950-2005 |url=https://psephologyfromtheperiphery.wordpress.com/past-election-results/falmouth-camborne-parliamentary-election-results-1950-2005/ |website=Kernowpolitico: notes from the periphery |publisher=KERNOWPOLITICO |language=en |date=29 December 2014}}</ref>

==Personal life and death==
⚫
De Savary was married three times.<ref name = CNN/> He had five daughters, two from his first marriage ( Lisa, who worked in public relations in 1997<ref name = Independent/> and as a photographer in 2010<ref name = Express>Heliker, Adam (25 April 2010) [http://www.express.co.uk/comment/expresscomment/171264/David-Cameron-voted-out-by-his-first-love-boot "Cameron voted out by his first love boot"], ''The Daily Express''. Retrieved 16 July 2013</ref> and who provided him with two grandsons and a granddaughter and Nicola, who studied medicine at [[King's College London]],<ref name = Independent/> is a doctor and mother to three more grandsons, Jack, Henry and Walter Moore). His second wife was his personal assistant Alice Simms to whom he was only married for a year.<ref name=":0" /> His third wife was Lana Paton,<ref>(1985) [http://www.hungerfordvirtualmuseum.co.uk/Places/Great_Estates/Littlecote/19850000_De_Savary_at_Littlecote.pdf "De Savary Revells in the glory of Littlecote"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141101212351/http://www.hungerfordvirtualmuseum.co.uk/Places/Great_Estates/Littlecote/19850000_De_Savary_at_Littlecote.pdf |date=1 November 2014 }}, Hungerford Virtual Museum. Retrieved 16 July 2013</ref> from [[Charleston, South Carolina]]. He had three daughters by Lana (Tara, Amber and Savannah).<ref name=":0" /> Amber was a dressage rider who represented her country more than 20 times at dressage.

⚫
In December 1987, after departing from [[St. Barthélemy]] in the Caribbean with his pilot, a nanny, his pregnant wife and his three daughters, their plane went into a stall, plunged into the Caribbean and landed upside down. The pilot died, and one of de Savary's daughters had to be revived on the beach. De Savary said, "At that point, my philosophy on life changed a little. When you genuinely look death in the eye, you know that nothing's going with you, and life is but a thread. It's a pretty tenuous thing we're hanging on to. So, what is the point of making money? I concluded it certainly isn't for accumulating it. That's the most stupid thing I ever heard of. So, there can be only one point, and that's to spend it. Now, I'm not ridiculously wasteful, but I may be slightly extravagant. As [[Andrew Carnegie]] said, 'to die rich is to die disgraced'."<ref>[http://www.cigaraficionado.com/Cigar/CA_Profiles/People_Profile/0,2540,153,00.html Cigar Aficionado | People Profile | Peter de Savary<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>


De Savary died in London from a heart attack on 30 October 2022, at the age of 78.<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2022/11/01/peter-de-savary-rumbustious-cigar-chomping-businessman-yachtsman/ Peter De Savary dies] {{subscription required}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite news |title=Peter de Savary obituary |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/peter-de-savary-obituary-9wr3gm2lz |access-date=1 November 2022 |publisher=The Times |date=1 November 2022}} {{subscription required}}</ref>
⚫
==Personal life==
⚫
De Savary married three times (once to Alice Simms for six weeks)<ref name = CNN/> and has five daughters. Two are from his first marriage – Lisa Tomlinson, who worked in public relations in 1997<ref name = Independent/> and as a photographer in 2010<ref name = Express>Heliker, Adam (25 April 2010) [http://www.express.co.uk/comment/expresscomment/171264/David-Cameron-voted-out-by-his-first-love-boot "Cameron voted out by his first love boot"], ''The Daily Express''. Retrieved 16 July 2013</ref> and who has provided him with two grandsons and a granddaughter; Nicola, who studied medicine at [[King's College London]],<ref name = Independent/> is a doctor and mother to three more grandsons, Jack (the king), Henrietta and Wanker Moore. His third wife is Lana Paton,<ref>(1985) [http://www.hungerfordvirtualmuseum.co.uk/Places/Great_Estates/Littlecote/19850000_De_Savary_at_Littlecote.pdf "De Savary Revells in the glory of Littlecote"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141101212351/http://www.hungerfordvirtualmuseum.co.uk/Places/Great_Estates/Littlecote/19850000_De_Savary_at_Littlecote.pdf |date=1 November 2014 }}, Hungerford Virtual Museum. Retrieved 16 July 2013</ref> from [[Charleston, South Carolina]]. His second youngest, Amber was a dressage rider who represented her country more than 20 times at dressage.
⚫
In December 1987, after departing from [[St. Barthélemy]] in the Caribbean with his pilot, a nanny, his pregnant wife and his three daughters, their plane went into a stall, plunged into the Caribbean and landed upside down. The pilot died, and one of de Savary's daughters had to be revived on the beach. De Savary said, "At that point, my philosophy on life changed a little. When you genuinely look death in the eye, you know that nothing's going with you, and life is but a thread. It's a pretty tenuous thing we're hanging on to. So, what is the point of making money? I concluded it certainly isn't for accumulating it. That's the most stupid thing I ever heard of. So, there can be only one point, and that's to spend it. Now, I'm not ridiculously wasteful, but I may be slightly extravagant. As [[Andrew Carnegie]] said, to die rich is to die disgraced."<ref>[http://www.cigaraficionado.com/Cigar/CA_Profiles/People_Profile/0,2540,153,00.html Cigar Aficionado | People Profile | Peter de Savary<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>


==References==
==References==
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{{DEFAULTSORT:De Savary, Peter}}
[[Category:1944 births]]
[[Category:1944 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:2022 deaths]]
[[Category:People educated at Charterhouse School]]
[[Category:People educated at Charterhouse School]]
[[Category:English businesspeople]]
[[Category:English businesspeople]]
[[Category:English football chairmen and investors]]
[[Category:English football chairmen and investors]]
[[Category:English people of French descent]]
[[Category:Referendum Party politicians]]
[[Category:Referendum Party politicians]]
[[Category:British expatriates in Nigeria]]
[[Category:British expatriates in Nigeria]]
[[Category:Millwall F.C. directors and chairmen]]
[[Category:Millwall F.C. directors and chairmen]]
[[Category:People from Burnham-on-Crouch]]

Latest revision as of 08:55, 1 June 2024

Peter de Savary
Born
Peter de Savary

(1944-07-11)11 July 1944
Burnham-on-Crouch, Essex, England
Died30 October 2022(2022-10-30) (aged 78)
Chelsea, London, England
EducationCharterhouse School
Occupations
  • Businessman
  • Yachtsman
  • Football Chairman

Peter John de Savary (11 July 1944 – 30 October 2022) was a British businessman in shipping, oil and property. He once owned or managed 13 shipyards around the globe and had global oil-trading and refuelling businesses. He was the Chairman of Millwall F.C.

In 1997, The Independent reported his fortune as £24 million,[1] in the 1999 Sunday Times Rich List, he was placed in 971st place with an estimated fortune of £21 million and in 2002 £34 million.[2] He was not listed in the top thousand places in subsequent editions.

Biography

[edit]

Early life

[edit]

De Savary was the son of a French-born Essex farmer,[1] and was educated in Britain at Charterhouse, Godalming, from which he was expelled at the age of 16.[3] He moved to Canada where his mother and stepfather lived; he did gardening, baby-sitting and children's private tuition.[3][4] At the age of 18, with his wife Marcia,[5] he moved back to the UK to work for his father.[4] During a visit to Canada in 1969 he took over a small import-export agency, Afrex, that did business in Africa.[4][6] On a subsequent flight to Nigeria he met the brother of the President of Nigeria with whom he went into business supplying wheat, flour, steel, cement and other goods to Nigeria and other African countries making him a millionaire by the age of 30.[4]

De Savary purchased a part-ownership in a Kuwait-registered oil company called Artoc. With others he also started a bank in Nassau, Bahamas. The bank specialised in investing in property, shipping, oil refineries and coal mining in South America. The bank was not very successful and in 1980 lost $64 million. De Savary negotiated a deal with the Italian financier Roberto Calvi for Calvi to buy a 20% share in Artoc but Calvi was found hanged under Blackfriars Bridge in London in 1984 and de Savary left Artoc.[2]

Clubs and property

[edit]
Skibo Castle in Sutherland, Scotland.

His first venture into hospitality was the St. James' Clubs in the late 1970s, in Los Angeles, London, Paris and Antigua, which he sold in the late 1980s to finance the £4m purchase of Skibo Castle. De Savary built up a large business empire in the 1980s, with property interests including Land's End and John o' Groats.[7]

However, in the early 1990s economic downturn his empire collapsed – he sold both Land's End and John o' Groats in 1991 for an undisclosed sum to the businessman Graham Ferguson Lacey, and his holding company Placeton went bankrupt in 1994 with debts of £200 million by one source[3] and £715 million by another.[8]

In 1997, he bought Vernon Court, a 14,000-square-foot in Newport RI. He planned to develop it into a members-only hotel similar to his Skibo Castle in Scotland. However, due to objection by neighbours the plans were dropped and the mansion was sold the following year.[9]

2000s

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His business activities since 2000 concentrated on property development and hotels, with a number of major country house hotels incorporating golf courses. De Savary saw a niche for the affluent: leisure properties that were small enough to make guests feel as though they were on their own private estate, but equipped with all the facilities of the world's great hotels. His first such development was The Carnegie Club at Skibo Castle in Scotland, the venue for Madonna and Guy Ritchie's wedding. This was sold in 2003 to Ellis Short.[10] Through his wife Lana's company, Havana West,[11] other similar developments have included: the Cherokee Plantation in South Carolina; Stapleford Park and Bovey Castle, both in England; and Carnegie Abbey in Rhode Island. Each is a private club with golf courses and other amenities — clay pigeon shooting, falconry, horse riding, tennis — depending on what fits with the club's local environment.[citation needed]

Again with Lana's Havana West company[11] he founded the Abaco Club at Winding Bay in Abaco, Bahamas, building a golf course at the location.

He bought four properties in Grenada in the Caribbean, where he developed a marina and resort village.[12][13]

In late 2009, de Savary purchased a former YMCA located in Newport, RI, that had been converted into Vanderbilt Hall hotel.[14] He added a small collection of American Illustration artworks to the property from the American Illustrators Gallery, New York, including a piece by Howard Chandler Christy titled "Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair". The painting depicts Stephen Foster composing the song of the same name. Other artists on display included Bradshaw Crandell, Constantin Alajalov, Helen Dryden, John Lagatta, George Hughes, Thomas Webb, Rico Tomaso, Carl Burger and Rolf Armstrong.[citation needed] The property was sold to Grace Hotels in 2010, then to Auberge Resorts Collection in 2018.

Yachting

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De Savary led the British sailing team in its challenge for the America's Cup in 1983 but his contender, Victory 83, was beaten by Australia II in the final heat. In 1992 de Savary withdrew from the race as he could not raise the £2 million necessary to compete.[2]

De Savary used the motor yacht Kalizma (formerly home to Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton during filming in London, named for their children) as a support vessel for the America's Cup races, but has since sold the ship. He also once owned the luxury yacht MY Land's End. In 1988 he founded Pendennis Shipyard in Falmouth, Cornwall, which builds and restores luxury yachts. He was responsible for the development of the new housing complex called Port Pendennis, also in Falmouth, which adjoins the shipyard there. He was also a sponsor of the Grenada Sailing Festival.[citation needed]

De Savary raced for many years in the Bucket Regatta in Newport, Rhode Island, and St Barts in the Caribbean. He was awarded the trophy "Spirit of the Bucket" in 2010. He was a member of the Royal Thames Yacht Club and the New York Yacht Club.

Football

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In November 2005, he succeeded Theo Paphitis as chairman of Millwall Holdings plc and as chairman of Millwall F.C. Stewart Till succeeded him on 3 May 2006 as the football club chairman, and de Savary remained as chairman of Millwall Holdings plc until October 2006.

In March 2011, de Savary was linked with a deal to purchase the financially stricken League One club Plymouth Argyle F.C. However, de Savary denied any interest in buying the club, which was eventually purchased by Plymouth City Council the following October.[15]

Political activity

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In 1997 De Savary stood as a Referendum Party candidate for Falmouth and Camborne. He came fourth receiving 3,534 (6.6%) votes.[16]

Personal life and death

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De Savary was married three times.[4] He had five daughters, two from his first marriage ( Lisa, who worked in public relations in 1997[1] and as a photographer in 2010[17] and who provided him with two grandsons and a granddaughter and Nicola, who studied medicine at King's College London,[1] is a doctor and mother to three more grandsons, Jack, Henry and Walter Moore). His second wife was his personal assistant Alice Simms to whom he was only married for a year.[2] His third wife was Lana Paton,[18] from Charleston, South Carolina. He had three daughters by Lana (Tara, Amber and Savannah).[2] Amber was a dressage rider who represented her country more than 20 times at dressage.

In December 1987, after departing from St. Barthélemy in the Caribbean with his pilot, a nanny, his pregnant wife and his three daughters, their plane went into a stall, plunged into the Caribbean and landed upside down. The pilot died, and one of de Savary's daughters had to be revived on the beach. De Savary said, "At that point, my philosophy on life changed a little. When you genuinely look death in the eye, you know that nothing's going with you, and life is but a thread. It's a pretty tenuous thing we're hanging on to. So, what is the point of making money? I concluded it certainly isn't for accumulating it. That's the most stupid thing I ever heard of. So, there can be only one point, and that's to spend it. Now, I'm not ridiculously wasteful, but I may be slightly extravagant. As Andrew Carnegie said, 'to die rich is to die disgraced'."[19]

De Savary died in London from a heart attack on 30 October 2022, at the age of 78.[20][2]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Garnier, Clare (7 June 1997) "De Savary disinherits his daughters", The Independent. Retrieved 16 June 2013
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Peter de Savary obituary". The Times. 1 November 2022. Retrieved 1 November 2022. (subscription required)
  3. ^ a b c Stock, Jon (15 July 2000) "Peter the pirate jumps ship again", Financial Times. Retrieved 16 July 2013
  4. ^ a b c d e Schuch, Beverly (7 April 2001) "Peter de Savary Turns His Passions Into Profits", CNN. Retrieved 16 July 2013
  5. ^ "The charmed life of a self-confessed adventurer" (PDF). Newbury Weekly News. 21 November 1985. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  6. ^ Roberts, Alison (23 April 2004) "Leave my millions to my five daughters? You must be joking", The Evening Standard
  7. ^ "1987: Millionaire's big plans for English landmark", BBC News
  8. ^ Clancy, Ray (10 October 2008) "Peter John de Savary : The man behind a thousand ventures", Property Community. Retrieved 16 June 2013
  9. ^ "Newport Cottages Offer Bargain-Basement Prices". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  10. ^ (28 May 2009) "Ellis Short: all you need to know about Sunderland's man at the helm", The Guardian. Retrieved 16 June 2013
  11. ^ a b Koening, Chris (21 July 2011) "Old Swan and Minster Mill", The Oxford Times. Retrieved 16 June 2013
  12. ^ Babej, Marc E. "The $700 Million Vision to Put Grenada on the Global Luxury Map". Forbes. Retrieved 9 May 2016.
  13. ^ "Welcome to de Savary Properties in Grenada, West Indies". De Savary Properties Granada. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  14. ^ Onorato, Ronald (2007). AIA Guide to Newport. Providence, RI: AIAre Architectural Forum. p. 110. ISBN 978-0979272707.
  15. ^ "Plymouth Argyle Home Park stadium deal agreed", BBC News. Retrieved 19 July 2014
  16. ^ "Falmouth-Camborne Parliamentary election results 1950-2005". Kernowpolitico: notes from the periphery. KERNOWPOLITICO. 29 December 2014.
  17. ^ Heliker, Adam (25 April 2010) "Cameron voted out by his first love boot", The Daily Express. Retrieved 16 July 2013
  18. ^ (1985) "De Savary Revells in the glory of Littlecote" Archived 1 November 2014 at the Wayback Machine, Hungerford Virtual Museum. Retrieved 16 July 2013
  19. ^ Cigar Aficionado | People Profile | Peter de Savary
  20. ^ Peter De Savary dies (subscription required)
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