Ian Taylor

NO VITOL SIGNS

Ian Taylor, the CEO of energy giants Vitol, has died after a battle with cancer. Among the trustees of the Royal Opera House, Taylor bankrolled the Better Together campaign in the Scottish Independence Referendum, and the Remain campaign in the Brexit Referendum. He turned down a knighthood from David Cameron, and with a personal wealth of over £180 million, Taylor wasn’t even inside the top 600 rich list. Which says a lot. Despite being a Conservative party financier, Taylor used much of his money to give to Arts and health charities, including children’s hospitals, Medecins Sans Frontieres, Great Ormond Street children’s hospital and several community trusts. He claimed in 2015 to like to gain wealth to distribute wealth to good causes, presumably before being sacked from the Millionaires Club for missing the point. Proving that life gives you what you get, Taylor lived on a life of porridge and philanthropy and has died of pancreatic cancer in his 50s, whilst the Barclay Brothers continue on healthily and Scrooge like as octogenarians. He was a unique pick for the nefarious Pelican in the Wilderness.

Ian Taylor
7 February 1956 – 8 June 2020
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