Summary

Who is the Richest Person in the United Kingdom Today?

• Richest Person:Michael Platt

• Age: 56

• Net Worth: $18 Billion

• Rank: 104

• Source of Wealth: Hedge funds

• Residence: Geneva, Switzerland

• Education: Bachelor of Arts/Science, London School of Economics; Bachelor of Arts/Science, London School of Economics

Michael Platt
Michael Platt

Michael Edward Platt, commonly referred to as Mike Platt, is a co-founder of BlueCrest Capital Management (UK) LLP, which was for a considerable amount of time the third-largest hedge fund in Europe. The wealthy entrepreneur co-founded the systematic hedge fund in 2000 with Bill Reeves, who subsequently retired from the company. He currently serves as the fund's principal, chief executive officer, and director.

They have their headquarters located in Guernsey, England. Additional registered branch offices of the company are located in Boston, London, Geneva, Connecticut, New York, and Singapore.

Michael Platt: Early Life and Education

Michael Platt was born on December 12, 1968, and was raised in a close-knit family in Preston, England. After enrolling at the London School of Economics, he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics.

Following in his father's footsteps, who is a professor at Manchester University, Platt attended Imperial College London to study civil engineering. He changed to studying mathematics and economics at the London School of Economics after becoming disinterested after a year, where he eventually graduated in 1992.

Platt's early life and career were greatly influenced by his family. He inherited a strong work ethic and a passion for intellectual pursuits from his mother's administrative experience and his father's civil engineering academic background. The groundwork for his future financial industry success was laid by his grandmother's investing advice.

Michael Platt: Career

When Platt moved to the city and saw potential, it was because his grandmother had given him some shares to invest in. In 1991, he became an MD at JP Morgan, where he oversaw relative value trading. In April 1992, Platt took over as head of JP Morgan's options and swaps trading division. A year later, he was in charge of all trading for all swaps products pertaining to the 11 founding countries of the European Union. Platt and Williams Reeves co-founded BlueCrest Capital Management LLP in 2000.

With rapid expansion, BlueCrest Capital Management (UK) LLP is now one of the top investment firms in Europe and beyond. The company is thought to handle investor assets worth over £30 billion and has 350 employees at its London office. The company's offices are now formally located in Guernsey.It also employs a sizable workforce globally and maintains registered branch offices in New York, Boston, Singapore, Geneva, and London.

The company has received numerous accolades and awards from the trading community for its strategic approach to trading and exceptionally effective investor fund management.

Due to its success, the hedge fund has received numerous EuroHedge awards over the years, including the Management Firm of the Year awards in 2004, 2008, 2009, and 2010. It has also been nominated for several other awards for its BlueTrend managed futures strategy, which is led by Leda Braga, and its original flagship on the same strategy, which was led by Michael Platts.

BlueCrest Capital Management (UK) has been tracking and capturing trends in bonds and commodities in the European market through the use of technology-based systems, such as computers.

It expanded to include stock trading in 2013.In order to compete with other companies engaged in stock trading, like Millennium Management LLC and SAC Capital Advisors LLP, which were at the time industry leaders in stock broking, the company decided to expand into stock trading.

Reportedly, in 2011, Platt turned down an investment offer from well-known investment guru George Soros, who desired to convert the hedge-fund company into a family business and cease overseeing money for external clients at his firm. He discussed it with Platt and asked him to obtain approximately $1 billion in exchange for a performance fee of 10% and a management fee of 0.5 percent. Platt, however, turned down the offer, stating that there were many buyers in the market prepared to pay the industry standard fee structure of 2-and-20 to BlueCrest Capital Management (UK).

Michael Platt: Personal Life

Platt resides in Geneva, Switzerland, and is married. He is a well-known art collector who assembled a collection of contemporary works by commissioning well-known artists rather than going picture shopping. In the crypt of a deconsecrated church at One Marylebone, he maintains a private showroom with artwork by various artists, including Reece Jones, the Turner Prize-winning sculptor Keith Tyson, and taxidermist Polly Morgan.

Michael Platt: Net Worth

Platt's career achievements are matched by his remarkable financial success. With an approximate net worth of $18 billion, Platt is one of the world's richest hedge fund managers. His exceptional wealth has strengthened his status as a financial authority in addition to increasing his personal wealth. Platt added yet another honor to his extensive resume in 2019 when he was named as one of the highest-earning hedge fund managers.

Platt turned BlueCrest into one of the biggest hedge fund companies in the world, managing over $35 billion in assets at its height.

After making a push into stocks and seeing bad returns, investors left, and in 2015 he returned the capital of outside investors, turning BlueCrest back into a family office.

Since then, the company has prospered, producing returns as high as 153% in 2022 and 95% in 2020, with no years seeing a decline of 20% or more.

Richest People in the United Kingdom (Forbes 2024)

RANK NAME NET WORTH
1 Michael Platt $18.0 billion
2 James Ratcliffe $16.4 billion
3 James Dyson $13.4 billion
4 Alexander Gerko $10.3 billion
5 Christopher Hohn $9.5 billion
6 David Reuben $9.5 billion
7 Simon Reuben $9.5 billion
8 Denise Coates $9.4 billion
9 Anthony Bamford & family $7.4 billion
10 Joe Lewis $6.3 billion
11 Clive Calder $5.7 billion
12 John Reece $5.5 billion
13 Andrew Currie $5.5 billion
14 Michael Ashley $5.1 billion
15 Ian Livingstone $4.7 billion
16 Richard Livingstone $4.7 billion
17 John Coates $4.3 billion
18 Tom Morris $4.0 billion
19 Alan Howard $3.9 billion
20 Hilton Schlosberg & family $3.5 billion
21 Laurence Graff & family $3.4 billion
22 John Caudwell $3.3 billion
23 Maritsa Lazari & family $2.8 billion
24 Nik Storonsky $2.7 billion
25 Farhad Moshiri $2.7 billion
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