Alexander David (Lex) Greensill CBE (born December 1976) is an Australian businessman and banker, best known for being the founder of Greensill Capital, a company focused on supply chain finance and derivative financial products that on 8 March 2021 filed for insolvency protection[1] and faced legal scrutiny.
Biography
Greensill was born in Bundaberg, a city in Queensland, in 1976.[2]
Before becoming a banker, he was a sugarcane farmer and was expected to enter his family's farming business.[3]
Early in his career, he served as an advisor to the British Prime Minister, David Cameron.[2]
He founded Greensill Capital in 2011 which was based in London.[2]
Demise of Greensill Capital
In the early months of 2021 Greensill Capital was on the verge of bankruptcy. Several criminal complaints were filed against the German subsidiary of Greensill Capital.[2] The Greensill Bank AG in Bremen was closed by the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority on March 3, 2021. It has been reported in the media that over half of Greensill's business came from bundling and reselling accounts receivable of Sanjeev Gupta's steel business, and that this is the cause of Greensill's insolvency problems.[4][5]
Awards
At the 2017 Birthday Honours of Elizabeth II, he received the title of Commander of British Empire from Prince Charles.[6][2]
Wealth
Lex Greensill was a certified billionaire and owned several private jets. He also frequently networked with the top echelons of the British establishment, including people like David Cameron and Neil Garrod, the chief treasurer of Vodafone.[7][8]
Due to the legal scrutiny and financial difficulty faced by Greensill's titular firm in early 2021, Greensill is no longer a billionaire. Stemming from the collapse of the firm, he faces several lawsuits.[citation needed] Greensill and his family sold some $200 million worth of shares in Greensill in 2019, before the company collapsed.[9]
References
- ^ Steinberg, Julie; Mavin, Duncan; Kowsmann, Patricia (8 March 2021). "Greensill Capital Tumbles Into Insolvency, Spreading Financial Pain". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
- ^ a b c d e "The unravelling of Lex Greensill: a mix of bravado and financial alchemy". Financial Times.
- ^ "Who is Lex Greensill? The billionaire banker tied to GAM's crisis". outline.com.
- ^ "Why 5,000 jobs depend on Gupta, Greensill and the government". www.msn.com. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
- ^ "Subscribe to read | Financial Times". www.ft.com. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
{{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help) - ^ "Lex Greensill made a commander of the British Empire".
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Lex Greensill Exits Billionaire Ranks as His Empire Unravels". March 5, 2021 – via www.bloomberg.com.
- ^ Collingridge, John. "Vodafone treasurer Neil Garrod joins controversial banker Greensill" – via www.thetimes.co.uk.
- ^ Massoudi, Arash; Smith, Robert; Morris, Stephen. "Greensill family cashed out $200m before collapse". The Financial Times. Retrieved 24 March 2021.