Net worth: 2.1billion USD (2017) Forbes
In 2016, Forbes listed Chris Hohn as one of the 25 Highest-Earning hedge fund managers in 2015. His total earnings of $250 million rank him the 12th among the 25 top earning hedge fund managers.
Hohn didn’t come from your typical financial background.
His father Paul was a Jamaican-born car mechanic of European descent who moved to Britain in 1960, and his mother was a legal secretary from East Sussex.
Christopher Hohn was academically inclined at school. He gaining 13 O Levels and attended the University of Southampton which he graduated from in 1988 with a first-class honor in accounting and business economics.
During his time at Southampton, a tutor advised him to apply for Harvard Business School, which he did and in 1993 he completed the Master of Business Administration course as a Baker Scholar, meaning he was among the top 5 per cent of all graduates.
After graduating, Christopher Hohn worked for the private equity group Apax Partners. In 1996 he went to work for Perry Capital, a hedge fund on Wall Street. In 1998 he was made the head of Perry’s London operations. In his time with Perry, he earned an estimated £75m.
In 2003 Hohn established The Children’s Investment Fund Management (TCI) a prominent value-based investment fund manager noted for long-term, owner orientated engagement with publicly listed companies. Profits generated by the fund were proportionately allocated to The Children’s Investment Fund Foundation a registered charity in England and Wales that focuses on improving the lives of children living in poverty in developing countries.
In March 2013, TCI announced that it would stop donating to the foundation because it is “large enough.”
Hohn’s only money-losing year was 2008 when the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. roiled financial markets and contributed to a 43% slump for TCI’s main hedge fund.
Christopher Hohn was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) in the 2014 Birthday Honours for services to philanthropy and international development.
In 2013 it was reported that Christopher Hohn had begun divorce proceedings with his wife. In November 2014, he was set to pay his American-born ex-wife $500m in what is thought to be the biggest divorce settlement ever awarded by an English court.
In December 2014, he was ordered to pay his ex-wife £337M
At Southampton University, a tutor advised Christopher Hohn to apply for Harvard Business School…
he completed the Master of Business Administration course as a Baker Scholar, meaning he was among the top 5% of all graduates
INVESTMENT STYLE
Christopher Hohn is an “activist” European hedge fund manager, he is known for his activist investing.
In other words, he buys stakes in companies and pressures management to make changes with the aim of driving up the share price.
“We get dramatic returns that are far in excess of what you’d receive on the stock market” said Christopher Hohn.
We get dramatic returns that are far in excess of what you’d receive on the stock market – Christopher Hohn
LEARNING RESOURCES
Christopher Hohn, founder of the London-based Children’s Investment Fund, talks about the challenges of being an activist investor.
Although activism can be disruptive, that doesn’t mean that it’s a bad thing for economies – Christopher Hohn
CONNECT WITH INVESTOR
Follow this World Top Investor via their various social media channels and read more about their background and current investment interests on their official website:
Christopher Hohn
www.tcifund.com