Fortnum & Mason is owned by the Weston family, a prominent Canadian-British business family, through their investment vehicle, Wittington Investments. The luxury retailer has been under the control of the Weston family since 1951, with the company operating as a subsidiary of the Wittington group.
Fortnum & Mason is owned by Wittington Investments, a private company controlled by the Weston family, with a significant portion of its shares held by the Garfield Weston Foundation, a charitable trust. Wittington Investments also owns stakes in other major brands, including Primark (through Associated British Foods).
According to The Sunday Times' Rich List 2020, the Westons had a reported fortune of £10.53 billion (C$19.62 billion), making them the eighth richest at the time. In 2024, the family retained the eighth spot and was worth £14.493 billion (C$27 billion).
Anna Catrina "Kate" Hobhouse (née Weston; born July 1962) is a British heiress, businesswoman and philanthropist who is a member of the Weston family. She is the chairman of Fortnum & Mason, an upscale department store located on Piccadilly in London.
The company is 79.2% owned by the Garfield Weston Foundation, one of the United Kingdom's largest grant-making trusts, which was established in 1958 by Canadian businessman W. Garfield Weston (1898–1978), and 20.8% owned by members of the prominent Weston family.
George Weston Limited is one of North America's largest processors and distributors of food. The company operates three subsidiaries: Loblaw Companies Limited, a grocery, drugstore and general retailer; Weston Foods, a baking company; and Choice Properties, a real estate investment trust.
As a successful businessman, Sir Richard Whittington supplied fine fabrics to the Court and loans to Kings. But Dick Whittington was also an Alderman, Sheriff, MP, Mayor of Calais, three times Master of the Mercers' Company and four times Lord Mayor.
Primark is owned by the Weston family, who are the majority shareholders (around 59%) of its parent company, Associated British Foods (ABF), through their holding company, Wittington Investments. The family's involvement dates back to the founding of Penneys (later Primark) in Ireland in 1969, and they maintain significant control and influence over ABF and its diverse businesses, including Primark.
Life's a beach throughout the year, not just the summer holidays, for TV presenter and model Kate Waterhouse (of Australia's racing royalty), her husband Luke Ricketson (of one-time Roosters rugby league fame) and their daughters, Sophia, 11, and Grace, nine.
The richest family in the UK is the Hinduja family, led by Gopi Hinduja, with a net worth of £35.3 billion as of the 2025 Sunday Times Rich List, topping the list for the fourth consecutive year despite a slight dip in their fortune from their vast Hinduja Group conglomerate. They are followed by the Reuben family (property, tech) and Sir Leonard Blavatnik (media, chemicals), while the Dyson family and Weston family (retail) also feature high on the list.
Michael Lee-Chin. Michael Lee-Chin OJ OOnt (born 3 January 1951) is a Jamaican-Canadian billionaire businessman, philanthropist and the chairman and CEO of Portland Holdings Inc, a privately held investment company in Ontario, Canada. CEO of Portland Holdings Inc. Lee-Chin was appointed to the Order of Ontario in 2017.
It was acquired by Wittington Investments (owned by the Weston family) in 1986, and was affiliated with the European department stores Selfridges, Brown Thomas, and de Bijenkorf until the Weston family divested of the Selfridges Group in 2022.
Average Fortnum & Mason hourly pay ranges from approximately £12.84 per hour for Sales Associate to £14.80 per hour for Chef. Salary estimated from 166 past and present job postings on Indeed. Please note that all salary figures are approximations based upon third party submissions to Indeed.
The UK's ninth richest billionaire, Norwegian-born shipping tycoon John Fredriksen, said “Britain has gone to hell” and has moved his business out of London in 2025, in a worrying sign of the huge exodus of wealth from the capital.
The brand is owned by Associated British Foods. It holds the world's oldest continually used company logo and is London's longest-standing ratepayer, having occupied the same premises on the Strand since 1706.
Personal life. Weston married his longtime girlfriend Katherine Holland in the summer of 2023; together, they have a daughter, Roxy. Weston and Holland appeared in a 2015 episode of Income Property, after purchasing a rental property.
Although Harrods has the name recognition, I find visiting Fortnum & Mason to be a truly fascinating experience. It's London's oldest department store, founded in 1707 by William Fortnum & Hugh Mason. Originally founded as a grocery store, today the shop sells housewares, furnishings, stationery, and more.
Tom Athron has spent the last 20 years working for retail businesses like John Lewis and MATCHESFASHION. Three years ago, he was appointed CEO of Fortnum & Mason and in June 2025, he accepted the role of chair at Walpole – the official sector body for UK luxury.
Fortnum & Mason is owned by Wittington Investments, a private company controlled by the Weston family, with a significant portion of its shares held by the Garfield Weston Foundation, a charitable trust. Wittington Investments also owns stakes in other major brands, including Primark (through Associated British Foods).
Yes, the Whittington family is real, famously associated with Sir Richard Whittington, a wealthy 14th/15th-century merchant and four-time Lord Mayor of London who came from a gentry family in Gloucestershire, though the magical cat and riches-from-a-cat story are legend. Surnames like Whittington have ancient English roots, with records tracing back to medieval times, and many families carry the name today, often with connections to the original lineage.
Rickey Whittington, founder of the R. Whittington Foundation with the help of Plaza Motors, Kingdom of God, Asbury Care, Walmart and Sam's Club turned our local elementary school library into a Toy store for every student to choose one special gift that they really wanted!
