Simon Sainsbury
Simon Sainsbury | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born | Simon David Davan Sainsbury 1 March 1930 London, England |
| Died | 27 September 2006 (aged 76) |
| Domestic partner | Stewart Grimshaw |
| Relations | Sir Robert Sainsbury (uncle) |
| Parent | Alan Sainsbury, Baron Sainsbury |
| Education | Sandroyd School Eton College |
| Alma mater | Trinity College, Cambridge |
| Occupation | Businessman and philanthropist |
Simon David Davan Sainsbury (1 March 1930 – 27 September 2006) was a British businessman, philanthropist and art collector.
Early life
Sainsbury was born in London,[1] the middle son of Alan Sainsbury and his wife Doreen. His brothers are John; Timothy, former Conservative Minister of Trade. David Sainsbury, Labour life peer and Minister for Science, is a cousin.[2] His great-grandfather, John James Sainsbury, established a grocer's at 173 Drury Lane in 1869 which became the British supermarket chain Sainsbury's.
Sainsbury was educated at
Career
Sainsbury trained as a chartered accountant after leaving university. He joined the finance department of the family company, then known as J. Sainsbury, in 1956 and became a director in 1959,[1] responsible for finance. When his brother John became chairman of Sainsbury's in 1969, Simon was given the deputy chairmanship. In 1973, it was Simon who steered the company through what became the largest ever floatation on the London Stock Exchange.[2]
Charitable works
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He established The Monument Trust in 1965, which gave grants of more than £100 million over the following 40 years.
Personal life
Near the end of his life, Sainsbury entered into a
Upon his death in 2006, Sainsbury bequeathed the cream of his art collection to the National Gallery and the Tate. The combined value of the paintings in the bequest has been estimated at £100 million.[5] In 2008, the National Gallery received five works, by Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Paul Gauguin, and Henri Rousseau, and the Tate thirteen, including works by Balthus and Lucian Freud.[5] Sir Nicholas Serota, the director of the latter institution, called the bequest "one of the most important gifts in the history of Tate".[6]
References
- ^ a b c Obituary, The Independent, 4 October 2006 Archived 4 November 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c d "Simon Sainsbury obituary". The Times. 6 October 2006. Retrieved 31 October 2007.
- ^ Obituary, The Daily Telegraph, 9 October 2006[dead link]
- ^ A tribute to Simon Sainsbury, businessman and philanthropist; accessed 4 November 2007 Archived 16 November 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b Alberge, Dalya (30 October 2007). "Simon Sainsbury, modest to the last, leaves £100m masterpieces to the nation". The Times. Retrieved 31 October 2007.
- ^ Akbar, Arifa (30 October 2007). "Sainsbury leaves £100m of art to Tate and National Gallery". The Times. Archived from the original on 30 October 2007. Retrieved 31 October 2007.
External links
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| National | |
| Artists | |
