Hugh Matheson (c. 1820 - 1898) was a 19th-century Scottish industrialist. In 1873, he assembled a group of financiers to purchase the Rio Tinto mine from the government of Spain, establishing the mining company that is today the Rio Tinto Group. Matheson served as the company's first president.[1][2]
His original capital came from his share profits from Jardine and Matheson, a family business involved in the opium trade.[3]