The Barclay twins' Classical/Medieval kitsch Castle in Brecqhou, Sark, Channel Islands
The Barclay brothers bought the Daily Telegraph newspaper from crooked Conrad Black. The castle is cleaned and maintained by Philipino women who are shipped in daily from Guernsey. Visitors have included David Cameron. The Barclay brothers also have a son called Aiden.
The Barclay twins were born within ten minutes of each other in London to Scottish parents who had ten children. Their father died when they were twelve and they left school four years later to work in the accounts department at General Electric before doing a stint as painters and decorators.
By 1962 they started redeveloping old boarding houses in London and making them into hotels. In 1975, they bought the Howard Hotel, overlooking the Thames at Temple Place. In 1983 they bought Ellerman, the brewing and shipping group for £45m. They later sold its brewing division for £240m. They used the proceeds to buy the Ritz Hotel in London's Piccadilly.
They are reported to be close friends of Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, former Archbishop of Westminster. According to newspaper reports, the cardinal has stayed at the Barclay brothers' home on the Channel Island of Brecqhou and is believed to have blessed the brothers' private chapel and said Mass for them there.
The Barclays are 'philanthropists' and were knighted in 2000 for their support to medical genetic engineering research, to which they have donated an estimated forty million pounds between 1987 and 2000.
In 2004, they were listed in 42nd place with an estimate of £750m on the Sunday Times Rich List, and in 2005, they were ranked 33rd with a value of £1.3 billion (USD $2.3 billion).
In 1993, the Barclay brothers bought the island of Brecqhou, one of the Channel Islands, located just west of Sark.
Their own mock-Gothic/Classical castle on Brecqhou, designed by Quinlan Terry, features 3 ft granite walls, battlements, two swimming pools and a helicopter pad. The brothers are tax exiles, supported by David Cameron, and give their address as Le Montaigne, 7 Avenue de Grande Bretagne, 98000 Monaco.
Datum
: 2010-04-11 14:04:12
Score
:
Bekeken
: 384