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Tony Murray (businessman)

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French-born British businessman (1920–2023)

Jacques Gaston Murray
BornGaston Jacques Kalifa
(1920-02-08)8 February 1920
Paris, France
Died6 June 2023(2023-06-06) (aged 103)
NationalityBritish
OccupationBusinessman
TitleChairman, London Security plc
Chairman, Andrew Sykes Group plc
Children2

Jacques Gaston Murray, known as Tony Murray (born Gaston Jacques Kalifa; 8 February 1920 – 6 June 2023) was a French-born British billionaire businessman.

Murray owned Andrew Sykes Group, the heating and air-conditioning equipment hire company, and London Security, the Leeds-based fire protection business which includes the Nu-Swift fire extinguisher brand.

According to The Sunday Times Rich List 2022, his net worth was estimated at £2.53 billion.

Early life

A De Havilland Mosquito of No. 613 Squadron RAF, pictured in June 1944

Murray was born in Paris, France on 8 February 1920 and was originally named Gaston Jacques Kalifa. His father ran a construction company that worked on infrastructure projects such as bridges. He was accepted to study architecture at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris before the outbreak of World War II. He escaped from Paris at the time of the German invasion of France and reached Biarritz where he boarded a Polish ship which took him to England. He enlisted in the Free French forces and eventually transferred to the Royal Air Force (RAF). He flew 38 missions as a navigator in No. 613 Squadron RAF. He received British citizenship after the war.

His father was murdered in Auschwitz. He was awarded the Legion of Honour by the French government.

Career

In 1982, Murray bought Nu-Swift, a Leeds manufacturer of fire extinguishers then in difficulties, with the businessman Michael Ashcroft. Murray later "became irritated" by Ashcroft getting too much of the credit for turning round the company.

Personal life and death

His sons, Jean-Jacques Murray and Jean‑Pierre Murray are both directors of London Security, the latter being non-executive.

Murray turned 100 in February 2020, and died on 6 June 2023, at the age of 103.

References

  1. "Un Français Libre parmi 51809". francaislibres (in French). Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  2. "New billionaire on Yorkshire Rich List | Insider Media Ltd". Insider Media. 24 April 2015. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  3. "The Sunday Times Rich List 2022". The Times. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  4. ^ Wood, Martin (24 August 1998). "Murray's made mint without meaning to; French war hero turned international takeover tycoon really wanted a farm". The Birmingham Post. Retrieved 30 April 2015.
  5. "Rich List 2015: No.3 - Jacques Gaston Murray & family". The Birmingham Post. 22 January 2015. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  6. Zhuravlyova, Sonia (11 May 2020). "He escaped Nazi-occupied Paris, flew for RAF - and is on the Rich List aged 100". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
  7. "Birmingham Post Rich List 2014: No.4 - Jacques Gaston Murray and family (£850m)". The Birmingham Post. 23 January 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  8. "Movers and shakers among the contacts and business buddies". The Guardian. 17 July 1999. Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  9. "London Security PLC". Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  10. Stockwatch: Keep backing this 100-year-old chairman
  11. Susin, Michael (8 June 2023). "Andrews Sykes, London Security Chairman Jacques-Gaston Murray Dies Aged 103". MarketWatch. Retrieved 8 June 2023.

Further reading

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