The matriarch of the Rothschild banking dynasty is reportedly selling her family’s shares in The Economist.
Lynn Forester de Rothschild, a British-American businesswoman and philanthropist, is putting the family’s 26.7% stake in this influential magazine on the market, as noted by a news outlet.
This stake is estimated to be worth around $537 million, which is a significant sum, considering the magazine’s overall valuation is about $1.1 billion.
The process of selling began on Monday night in London and is being managed by Lazard, an investment bank that’s working with the family on this deal.
According to reports, Exor, the investment company owned by the Agnelli family of Italy, holds about 43.4% of The Economist, while the magazine’s own group owns roughly 30%.
Forester de Rothschild manages her family’s holding firm, El Rothschild LLC. Following her husband Evelyn de Rothschild’s passing in 2022, she took on a more prominent and active role within the family.
Initially, she had considered selling only part of the family’s holdings—around 20%—but ultimately opted to sell the entire stake.
The family’s shares include both voting and non-voting options.
Notably, The Economist’s ownership rules prevent any single shareholder from wielding more than 20% of the voting power. This aims to preserve the publication’s editorial independence.
Future owners will need to abide by that limit, monitored by independent trustees.
The Rothschilds entered into ownership of The Economist via an investment firm back in 2002 and have long supported the Economist Educational Foundation, which provides free classroom materials to enhance students’ critical thinking skills.
This sale marks the end of over two decades of family involvement with the 182-year-old magazine, traditionally a proponent of free markets and liberal democracy.
The timing of this sale is interesting, particularly amidst heightened global competition for prestigious English-language news outlets. In recent years, we’ve seen international buyers, especially from Asia, take control of several prominent Western financial media brands.
For example, a Thai businessman acquired Fortune Magazine for $150 million in 2018, while the Financial Times was bought by a Japanese media conglomerate in 2015 for $1.3 billion.
Moreover, Forbes Media was taken over by Hong Kong-based Integrated Whale Media in 2014.
This sale is likely to draw interest from family offices, strategic investors, and wealthy individuals instead of large corporate media entities.
