| Arpad Busson | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born | 27 January 1963 Boulogne-Billancourt, France |
| Children | Two |
| Occupation | Financier, Philanthropist |
Arpad A. Busson (born 27 January 1963) is a London-based socialite and Swiss financier.[1] Busson entered the world of hedge funds in 1986 working in New York.[2] He is the founder and Chairman of the EIM Group, a fund-of-funds company. Mr. Busson is also very active in a number of philanthropic causes around the globe.
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Busson was born in France. His father Pascal Busson was a former French army officer and Algeria veteran, and later turned financier. His mother, Florence "Flockie" Harcourt-Smith, was an English former debutante. Busson's aunt, Joanna Harcourt-Smith, was a companion of Timothy Leary.[3] His parents met in Paris and named their son after the Hungarian-born banker Árpád Plesch (1889–1974), who was not only Florence Busson's stepfather (he was the second husband of her mother, Marysia Ulam Krauss Harcourt-Smith), but also her stepgrandfather (Plesch's first wife was his second wife's mother, Leonie Ulam).[4] Plesch also was a mentor to Italy's richest man, the late head of Fiat, Gianni Agnelli.[5]
Growing up in France, some sources have suggested that Busson made early profits selling toothpicks door-to-door (which he denies),[6] but he was educated in France and at the Institut Le Rosey in Switzerland. He then served national service as a medic in the French army, where a friend said: "He loved the discipline of the army - it was the making of him.".[7]
On being demobilised, Busson had a well-publicised relationship with the actress Farrah Fawcett and appeared in tabloid gossip columns. As he often refuses to give interviews, stories surround Busson - the story about Fawcett is that he masqueraded as an Italian prince on the French Riviera where he wooed Fawcett away from Ryan O'Neal. The story is only partly true, in that it was perpetuated by the gossip columnist "Taki" as a sort of in-joke: Taki knew Busson's mother, who was friends with Fawcett; Busson's father often met Fawcett at dinner parties.[6]
Busson first moved to New York in 1981 where he worked as a real-estate broker.
Busson then started to make a good deal of money after he studied how to invest on behalf of others.[8] Busson entered the world of hedge funds in 1986 working in Paris for Bernard Loze. Then employed as marketing representative by Paul Tudor Jones’s fund Tudor Investments.
In 1991, Mr. Busson founded the EIM Group to provide fund-of-fund management services to the growing institutional market for hedge funds. In 1995, EIM had seven employees with $100 million under management.
On December 8, 2008 EIM was reported as being a victim of a ponzi scheme[9]
Through dinners and Social events, Busson has been involved in charitable work. He is a well-known proponent of “venture philanthropy” which seeks to multiply the effectiveness of charitable pursuits by applying to them the same management practices which are used in business ventures.
Busson is a founding trustee of the children's charity ARK (Absolute Return for Kids) and serves as chairman of its board of directors. Busson held the post of Chairman since the charity’s inception. He stepped down from that position in 2009 but remains a member of the Board as founding chairman, and as chairman of ARK US.
ARK raises charitable contributions from the hedge fund industry for children who are victims of abuse, disability, illness and poverty. ARK finances and manages projects aimed at transforming the lives of children in Eastern Europe, South Africa and the UK through education and healthcare.
The annual Ark Dinner hosted by Mr. Busson sees a range of high profile individuals attend the event to raise money for the charity. Previous years have seen the likes of Bill Clinton (2006),[10] Queen Rania of Jordan (2010) [11] and in 2011 the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge took the limelight as Prince William announced a joint venture by the Foundation of Prince William and Prince Harry and the Ark charity.[12]
Its activities include funding treatment for AIDS victims in Africa, taking children out of care in Bulgaria and Romania and developing educational opportunities for disadvantaged children in India.[13] It also operates eight academies, six of which are in London, through its subsidiary charity ARK Academies.[14]
Busson says of ARK: "If we can apply the entrepreneurial principles we have brought to business to charity, we have a shot at having a really strong impact, to be able to transform the lives of children."[5]
Busson has two sons by his relationship with the model Elle Macpherson, Arpad Flynn Alexander Busson and Aurelius Cy Andrea Busson. The couple got engaged in August 2003.
The couple parted in July 2005, and issued a joint statement: "Whilst remaining the greatest of friends, we have decided to spend some time apart to consider our future. We have had, and in many ways continue to have, a wonderful relationship, which has produced two beautiful children. There is no third party involved.[15]
Busson was engaged to actress Uma Thurman.[16] On 8 December 2009 it was reported that the two had broken up.[17]
In 2006, Busson was voted the seventh most wanted person at a party in the United Kingdom, according to Tatler magazine - while Macpherson was voted in at eleventh.[18]