James Palumbo
The Lord Palumbo of Southwark | |
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| Member of the House of Lords | |
| Assumed office 31 October 2013 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 6 June 1963 London, England |
| Political party | Liberal Democrats |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur, Peer |
| Net worth |  £180 million (Est. 2013) |
James "Jamie" Palumbo, Baron Palumbo of Southwark (born 6 June 1963) is a British Entrepreneur, who was the co-founder and current Chairman of Ministry of Sound Group, the international music and nightclub business.[1] He was born in London on 6 June 1963 and educated at Eton College and Worcester College, Oxford.[2] He was listed in the Sunday Times Rich List 2013 in 434th place with an estimated fortune of £180 Million.[3] He was elevated to the House of Lords in August 2013.[4]
Ministry of Sound
After working in the City for Merrill Lynch, Morgan Grenfell,[5] and Hambro Magan,[6] Palumbo opened the Ministry of Sound nightclub in South London in September 1991 with school friend Humphrey Waterhouse and DJ Justin Berkmann.[7]
The club, modelled on the Paradise Garage in New York, had a 24 hour licence and rode the wave of dance music then popular in the UK.[8] However, Palumbo lost control of the club to drug dealers. A fight to regain control followed.[9]
Since its inception, Ministry of Sound has expanded into a number of areas including music, live events, bars, consumer electronics, merchandise, beauty and other lifestyle products.[8] The business has also acquired a number of other brands including HedKandi, acquired in 2006 from the Guardian Media Group for an undisclosed sum.[10]
Ministry of Sound has offices or operates venues in Germany, Australia, USA, Egypt, Malaysia and Spain.[11] Its touring operations comprise over 2,000 events per annum in over 30 countries.[12]
Ministry of Sound Recordings has sold over 50 million albums to date,[8] and is the largest independent music company in the world.[13] Its artists include; Example, Wretch 32, DJ Fresh, London Grammar, Duke Dumont, Porter Robinson and Chris Malinchak
In 2001 Palumbo sold 16% of the business to 3i for £24 million.[14] In 2008 Lohan Presencer became Chief Executive. Palumbo remains Chairman of the Group.[15]
Legal case
Palumbo was estranged at an early age from his father Lord Palumbo, the Conservative peer and former Chairman of the Arts Council.[16] In 1994 he launched legal proceedings with his sister, Annabella Adams, claiming his father had mismanaged the family Trust, set up by his grandfather Rudolph, a successful property developer.[17] In 1997 his father resigned as a Trustee and new Trustees were appointed to manage the family affairs.[18] In 2010 new proceedings were launched relating to another family Trust, this time with Annabella Adams and his younger sister Laura Tikoo.[19] Again his father resigned as a Trustee and made a substantial contribution towards the children's legal fees.
Politics
Palumbo has a number of friends in politics. These include Lord Mandelson, the former Labour cabinet minister, to whom he loaned a chauffeur-driven car during the 1997 Election campaign,[20] Simon Hughes, the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats, whom he has supported since 1991[21] and Tom Sackville, the former Conservative Home Office Minister with whom he worked on the Drugs Misuse Act 1994.[22] Over recent years Palumbo has worked closely with the Liberal Democrats on operations, marketing and campaigns.[23]
On 2 October 2013 he was created a Life Peer taking the title Baron Palumbo of Southwark, in the London Borough of Southwark.[24]
Writing
Palumbo’s debut novel, Tomas, about greed and corruption in the modern world, was published by Quartet in July 2009.[25]
Remarks made include; “Absolutely amazing”, Stephen Fry, “I loved it”, Claudia Winkleman, “Either mad or genius or both”, Rory Bremner, “As grotesque as it is gripping”, Niall Ferguson, "Should be on the long list for the Man-Booker prize", Peter James, "Is James Palumbo's novel Tomas a clever joke?" Sam Jordison - The Guardian, "Savage satire of the highest calibre", Monocle, "Has cult written all over it" -TheBookBag'[26]
His novella, Tancredi, was published by Marlborough Press in September 2011.[27]
Personal
He lives in London with his Thai friend of thirty years, Rawipim Paijit.[28] He has one son, Alessandro, born in March 1991 to his Iranian mother Atoosa Hariri.[29]
References
- ^ Emination.co.uk, 10 January 2011. History of Ministry of Sound
- ^ Ros Wynne-Jones, 2 November 1997. The Man from Ministry, The Independent
- ^ The Sunday Times 21 April 2013. The Sunday Times
- ^ Working Peerages announced Gov.uk
- ^ Matthew Bell, 9 August 2009. There’s only money, sex and music mellowing, The Independent
- ^ London Evening Standard, 22 April 1994. A bit of rough trade
- ^ Mark Banham, 15 June 2007. Ministry of Sound awards £7m media business to The7stars, Brand Republic News Releases
- ^ a b c Ministryofsoundgroup.com, Ministry of Sound
- ^ Daily Mail, 28 June 2009. How I risked my life kicking the drug gangs out of my club, by Ministry of Sound boss, James Palumbo
- ^ Chris Blackhurst, 22 May 2009, Dance isn’t dead says Ministry of Sound chief, Evening Standard
- ^ Ministryofsound.com, Ministry of Sound Events
- ^ 2,000 events in 30 countries
- ^ Ian Burrell, ‘The Independent’. 9 April 2011, Club class: 20 years of the Ministry of Sound
- ^ William Kay, The Independent’, 15 February 2003, How 3i keeps a close eye on its cash, and clients
- ^ Alexandra Goss, 12 July 2009, Fame and Fortune: James Palumbo, The Sunday Times
- ^ London Evening Standard, 7 November 1994, Palumbo courts fresh battle against Jamie
- ^ 1994 Legal Case
- ^ Kate Rankine, ‘Daily Telegraph’, 13 September 2003, Business profile: Chairman with a passion for needlework
- ^ Michael Seamark, ‘Daily Mail’, 28 July 2010, Lord Palumbo in fresh court row with children over “missing art worth £2m”
- ^ London Evening Standard, 12 May 1999, Mandy downsizes
- ^ Wynne-Jones, ‘The Independent’, 2 November 1997, ‘The Man from the Ministry’
- ^ ‘Daily Mail’, 28 June 2009, How I risked my life kicking the drug gangs out of my club, by Ministry of Sound boss, James Palumbo
- ^ GQ Magazine - Febuarty 2013, http://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/magazine
- ^ "No. 60648". The London Gazette. 4 October 2013.
- ^ Quartet Books
- ^ jamespalumbo.com , ‘Tomas’ by James Palumbo
- ^ James Palumbo.com
- ^ Matthew Bell, ‘The Independent’, 9 August 2009, ‘There’s Only Money, Sex and Music Mellowing’
- ^ Ros Wynne-Jones, ‘The Independent’, 2 November 1997, ‘The Man from the Ministry’
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