Billion-Pound Property Portfolio Bequeathed to 25-Year-Old

A multi billion-pound property portfolio and a £9 billion fortune has been bequeathed to the Duke of Westminster’s 25-year-old son after he died suddenly on Tuesday.

Billion-Pound Property Portfolio Bequeathed to 25-Year-Old

Hugh Grosvenor has now become the third wealthiest landowner in Britain and the 68^th wealthiest person in the world, according to Forbes magazine.

Grosvenor, the only son of the late Duke of Westminster, has become the 7^th Duke of Westminster and the owner of a significant share of the most exclusive parts of London. Added to his CV is the fact that he’s also the godfather to Prince George.

The Grosvenor property firm, which was formed in the 17^th-century, runs a huge portfolio of properties across the capital’s West End and is almost certainly the largest property management company in the UK by value.

The privately owned property business has £11.8 billion in assets under management. At its heart is the 300-year-old Grosvenor estate in London, which began in 1677 as 500 acres of land, including Mayfair and Belgravia.

Its holdings range from high-tech office space in Silicon Valley and a science park in Edinburgh, to the freehold on the current US embassy in Grosvenor Square. The jewel in the crown is Eaton Square, built close to Buckingham Palace and the Houses of Parliament during the housing boom that followed the Napoleonic wars.

Run as a separate legal entity with its own chief executive, Grosvenor Group paid a huge £58m in tax on profits of £527m in 2015 and boasts 520 employees. Its holdings are largely expected to qualify for relief from inheritance tax periodic charges.

Had the Grosvenor estate inherited by the new Duke of Westminster been liable for 40% inheritance tax, the amount owed to the Treasury would have come close to the Government’s entire death duty take for the last financial year.

However, Hugh Grosvenor avoids a significant cut to his £9 billion inheritance, as the estate is held in a trust.