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Lord Hanson is Britain's leading industrial power broker. From the City, to Whitehall, to Fleet Street, his word commands obedience and deference. Few have so captured the imagination of the British commercial and political establishment in this century. He is an object of intense interest to British journalists, but not many of them dare to write much of anything about him, thanks to his penchant for threatening lawsuits.
Several things account for this seemingly unassailable position of influence. First, Lord Hanson has acquired a reputation for success in new business ventures; second, his conservative convictions have attracted the admiration of leading politicians, notably Margaret Thatcher; third, he is very rich--at latest count, he is worth an estimated $64.3 million; and finally, he has the capacity to be extremely charming and charismatic with friends and people of like minds.
Hanson's record as an empire builder speaks for itself. In 1964, as plain James Hanson, he took a tiny manufacturer of fertilizers called the Wiles Group on a dizzying ride of acquisitions, divestments, and share swaps. Every year a new and quite different business joined the group: bricks, then construction equipment, sacks, fish products, hot dogs, and a host of others. The glue holding this collection together was a view that tough management could make the businesses more efficient, generating more cash for shareholders.
The Wiles Group changed its name to Hanson Trust in 1969, reflecting the importance of its dynamic chairman. The company's name was later changed to Hanson PLC. By 1983 sales had risen to $2.32 billion and profits before taxes to $144.4 million. But the ride went...