Stuart Wheeler

John Stuart Wheeler (born 30 January 1935) is a British businessman and politician. He made his fortune as the founder of the spread betting firm IG Index in 1974, but is best known for his political activism, being formerly a major donor to the Conservative Party and treasurer of the UK Independence Party from 2011 to 2014.

Business life

Wheeler was educated at Eton College. He did his National Service with the Welsh Guards, before studying at Christ Church, Oxford, from where he graduated with a second-class degree in law. He practised law as a barrister, before becoming an investment banker. However, Wheeler found his niche through IG Index, which pioneered spread betting. Originally, the company was launched to allow Britons to speculate on gold, when foreign exchange controls made it exorbitantly expensive to actually buy it.

By 2008 sales of his shares in IG Index has made Wheeler one of the 2,000 wealthiest people in the United Kingdom according to the Sunday Times Rich List, with a fortune of £40m. Although he is a new entrant on the list, Wheeler had previously publicly stated his worth as being £90m. As part of his retreat from business, Wheeler spent £7.3m, windfall from the sale of his third tranche of shares in IG Group, on buying the Grade I listed Jacobean Chilham Castle, in Kent. He subsequently sold the rest of his shares, due in part to the cost of renovating the castle.