The Pharos Spring Lecturer for 2025, Sir Paul Marshall, is one of the UK's leading investors, a major philanthropist, and now one of the country's most influential media owners. After spending the early part of his career at S.G. Warburg, he co-founded Marshall Wace LLP, one of London's first hedge funds, in 1997. He continues to serve as chairman and chief investment officer, and Marshall Wace is today one of Europe's largest hedge fund groups.
Marshall became heavily involved in educational philanthropy during the 2000s: as the author of several books on British schools, as founding trustee of the children's charity ARK and chairman of ARK Schools, and as lead Non-Executive Director at the Department for Education from 2013-16. His first venture into media was through the news website UnHerd in 2017. He later became a major investor in GBNews, briefly serving as chairman, before purchasing The Spectator in September 2024.
Formerly a major donor to the Liberal Democrats and a contributor to the Orange Book, Marshall left the party over its opposition to Brexit and his commitment to classical liberalism. He has since supported the Conservative Party and was one of the founders of the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship in 2023 with Jordan Peterson. He is one of Britain's premier philanthropists, often near the top of the Sunday Times Giving List. He was knighted in 2016.
