Who is the Duke of Westminster? Prince George’s godfather with huge fortune of £9billion

The Duke of Westminster owns some of Britain’s most exclusive properties, including properties in London’s elite boroughs of Mayfair and Belgravia

Millions of households across the UK are currently struggling to get to grips with the rising cost of living – but others, it seems, are doing just fine.

The Sunday Times’ latest Rich List revealed that the UK now has a record number of billionaires – 177 in all – with combined wealth of £653bn.

Amazingly, this is an increase of £55bn (9.4%) over the previous year. The richest 250 people in the country are now worth a total of £710.723 billion.

Among the richest people in the country is the Duke of Westminster, godfather to Prince George and owner of some of Britain’s most exclusive properties. But who exactly is he?

Who is the Duke of Westminster?

Hugh Grovesnor, the seventh Duke of Westminster, is an aristocrat, property developer and one of Britain’s wealthiest people. He is worth an estimated £9.726 billion and ranks 13th in the Sunday Times Rich List 2022.

He is also only 31 years old.

Born in 1991, he became Duke of Westminster in August 2016 after his father – Gerald Grosvenor, the sixth Duke – died of a heart attack.

After the death of his father, he inherited a fortune of £9 billion and various estates.

However, these assets were held in a trust, which meant they were exempt from the standard 40% inheritance tax. This regulation, which has allowed aristocratic families to protect their wealth for generations, has been the subject of much criticism.

The current duke is descended on his mother’s side from the Romanovs, who were the ruling family of Russia before the October 1917 revolution.

Before he inherited the duchy, Grosvenor – then Earl Grosvenor – worked in property management, first for Wheatsheaf Investment and then for his family’s Grosvenor Group.

In 2013, the Duke was named godfather to Prince George, the eldest child of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge. Little else is publicly known about his private life.

He has two older sisters – Lady Tamara Katherine Grosvenor and Lady Edwina Louise Grosvenor – as well as younger sister Lady Viola Georgia Grosvenor, but as the only male heir he succeeded his father as Duke of Westminster.

The Duke’s property interests include what The Times describes as “large tracts of prime property in London’s Belgravia and Mayfair”.

He topped the Sunday Times Young Rich List in 2021 but is no longer eligible.

The 31-year-old is also known for his philanthropic endeavors. In 2020 he donated several million pounds to the NHS to help with his Covid response.

Other causes the Duke of Westminster has supported include youth mental health campaigns and the Save the Children appeal in Ukraine, to which he has donated £500,000.