Billionaire buys 27% of the Economist

Nathan Jolly

March 18, 2026 11:24

A 27% stake in The Economist has changed hands

Canadian billionaire Stephen Smith has bought a 26.9% stake in UK news and current affairs journal the Economist from the Rothschild family, a tranche reportedly worth A$755 million.

Smith is co-founder and chairman of Peloton Capital Management, and co-owner of proxy advisor Glass Lewis. Forbes estimates his net worth at A$9.85b. He bought the 26.7% stake in The Economist Group (TEG) — which includes 20% of voting shares — from Lynn Forester de Rothschild and her family foundation, who had held the shares since 2002.

Under The Economist’s ownership rules, no single shareholder can control more than 20% of the voting rights, despite the size of its financial stake.

The largest shareholder in the company is investment company Exor, which holds a 43.4% stake. TEG holds 30%, which is distributed to shareholders, while the Cadbury and Schroder families each have minor holdings.

The Economist Group also owns digital publication 1843 Magazine (named for the year the Economist first launched). For the year ending March 2025, TEG reported a £48m profit (A$90m), revenues of £369m (A$693m) and a subscriber base of 1.25m.

A spokesperson for Smith confirmed the sale to the Guardian.

“This investment reflects Mr Smith’s full support for the Economist’s long‑standing tradition of rigorous editorial independence and will see the Economist’s strategy and operations continue unaffected,” the spokesperson said.

“Mr Smith is a Canadian entrepreneur and investor with significant holdings in leading Canadian financial services businesses, alongside meaningful philanthropic commitments to education, history and the arts.”

A spokesperson for TEG said: “We can confirm that Stephen Smith, together with his family holding company Smith Financial, has entered into an agreement to acquire a 26.9% minority stake in the Economist Group from existing shareholders, Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild, her family and her family foundation, subject to certain closing conditions.”