Background
John Beckwith was born on 19 March 1947.
John Beckwith was born on 19 March 1947.
He was educated at Harrow School.
He is reportedly a "sport fanatic" and, as of 2011, had run four marathons. Beckwith qualified as a Chartered Accountant with Arthur Anderson & Company from 1969 to 1971. Beckwith served as chairman until 1993.
In 1986, Beckwith founded Rutland Trust Public Limited Company, a diversified corporate finance, venture capital and insurance broking group, where he served as chairman until 1991.
In 1993, Beckwith founded the private investment company Pacific Investments Public Limited Company. In 2007, Rutland Trust Public Limited Company merged with August Equity Trust Public Limited Company to form New Star Private Equity Investment Trust Public Limited Company. Beckwith has been on the Sunday Times Rich List for several years, and was 195th in the 2007 list with assets of reportedly over GBP400 million. He is a Vice President of the Royal National Institute of Blind People.
Beckwith established the Sir John Beckwith Charitable Trust in 1987 with the announced aim of helping a broad spectrum of charitable bodies. Between April 1993 and April 2010, the Trust made donations totalling £6.87m across a wide range of educational, sports, arts, medical and community organisations.
He is a Patron of the Teenage Cancer Trust and was a member of the Development Board of the Cancer Relief Macmillan Fund (later Macmillan Cancer Support).