Jump to content

William Stern (businessman): Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Rescuing 1 sources and tagging 0 as dead.) #IABot (v2.0) (Starzoner - 5632
Jimroland (talk | contribs)
260 edits
→Career: parag. "In 2013..."
Line 46: Line 46:


After being [[Bankruptcy discharge|discharged]] in 1987, Stern resumed his business activities, until a second commercial empire under his control collapsed in the 1990s with debts of £11&nbsp;million.<ref name="standard"/><ref name="times"/> He was subsequently banned from serving as a company director for twelve years in April 2000, following the emergence of evidence that he had appropriated £1.5&nbsp;million from the business despite his prior knowledge that it was on the brink of failure.<ref name="standard"/><ref name="times"/>
After being [[Bankruptcy discharge|discharged]] in 1987, Stern resumed his business activities, until a second commercial empire under his control collapsed in the 1990s with debts of £11&nbsp;million.<ref name="standard"/><ref name="times"/> He was subsequently banned from serving as a company director for twelve years in April 2000, following the emergence of evidence that he had appropriated £1.5&nbsp;million from the business despite his prior knowledge that it was on the brink of failure.<ref name="standard"/><ref name="times"/>

In 2013 he sold family valuables in his custody to a former longstanding creditor, but then refused to deliver them following payment, arguing he had not been entitled to sell them, then disobeyed a religious court order to deliver them. The purchaser proceeded to seize the goods from Stern's main home in 2014 following a civil court award, which Stern and other family members unsuccessfully contested in the High Court.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.casemine.com/judgement/uk/5a8ff74c60d03e7f57eab039 | title=Halberstam & Anor v Gladstar Ltd / [2005] EWHC 179 (QB) | year=2005 | website=Casemine | access-date=2020-04-12 }}</ref>


==Personal life==
==Personal life==

Revision as of 16:53, 12 April 2020

"Stern Group" redirects here. For the Zionist armed group, see Stern Gang.

William Stern
Born
Vilmos György Stern

(1935-07-02)2 July 1935
Budapest, Hungary
DiedMarch 2020 (aged 84–85)
NationalityHungarian, British
OccupationBusinessman
Known forOwner of Stern Group, Britain's then biggest bankruptcy with debts of £118 million in 1973
SpouseShoshana Stempel (Freshwater)

William George Stern (born Vilmos György Stern, 2 July 1935 – 23 March 2020)[1] was a businessman most notable as the owner of the British Stern Group of companies. When it collapsed in 1973, Stern became Britain's biggest bankrupt with debts of £118 million.[2][3][4] The uninsured losses sustained by thousands of investors led directly to the creation of Britain's first Policyholders' Protection Act.[3][5]

Early life

He was born Vilmos György Stern or Ze’ev HaKohen Stern in Budapest, the youngest of three children of Chaim Stern, who owned a textile factory supplying goods to the Hungarian government.[6]

When Hungary was invaded by Nazi Germany in March 1944, Stern along with his family, escaped on the Kastner train, which carried 1,684 Jews to safety in Switzerland.

Career

During the 1960s, rising economic fortunes in Britain led to the creation of the first unitised property funds. Initially, only pension funds and charities were permitted to purchase units in these trusts, but these regulations were relaxed under the leadership of Prime Minister Edward Heath who came to power in 1970, after which time the general public could also invest via insurance companies. One such intermediary was Nation Life Insurance, part of the Stern Group.[5]

As a result of the stock market crash and secondary bank crisis of 1973–74, property prices in Britain tumbled dramatically. Investment fund customers attempted to liquidate their rapidly devaluing bonds, but the funds had insufficient cash to meet their redemption obligations, leading to their collapse.[5] Nation Life, and its parent company, were forced into administration, and William Stern was declared bankrupt.[5] The scandal was raised in the British Parliament on several occasions,[7][8][9] and a BBC documentary on the subject aired in 1974.[10] Thousands of private investors lost their life savings, since at the time there was no compensation scheme in place to protect them.[3] As a direct consequence of Nation Life's failure, the 1975 Policyholders' Protection Act was introduced, which mandates investors' insurance be paid for by a one percent levy on investment premiums.[3][5]

After being discharged in 1987, Stern resumed his business activities, until a second commercial empire under his control collapsed in the 1990s with debts of £11 million.[2][3] He was subsequently banned from serving as a company director for twelve years in April 2000, following the emergence of evidence that he had appropriated £1.5 million from the business despite his prior knowledge that it was on the brink of failure.[2][3]

In 2013 he sold family valuables in his custody to a former longstanding creditor, but then refused to deliver them following payment, arguing he had not been entitled to sell them, then disobeyed a religious court order to deliver them. The purchaser proceeded to seize the goods from Stern's main home in 2014 following a civil court award, which Stern and other family members unsuccessfully contested in the High Court.[11]

Personal life

In 1957 or 1958, he married Shoshana Stempel (Freshwater).[12][6]

In 2000, Stern was living in a "£4m six-bedroom mansion" in West Heath Avenue, Hampstead, London, owned another home in Jerusalem, and a villa in the south of France.[13]

Death

He died in March 2020 from COVID-19.[14]

References

  1. ^ "USC Shoah Foundation". USC Shoah Foundation.
  2. ^ a b c "Not-so-hard times for the celebrity bankrupts". Evening Standard. 17 August 2001. Archived from the original on 17 May 2008.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Charles, James (25 June 2008). "The 10 worst property investments ever". The Times. UK. Archived from the original on 7 July 2010. Retrieved 20 October 2008.
  4. ^ "Stern declared bankrupt". Montreal Gazette. 2 June 1978.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Stern reminders of earlier property crashes". The Daily Telegraph. UK. 9 December 2007.
  6. ^ a b "On the Passing of a Titan". Rabbi Dunner. 26 March 2020. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  7. ^ "Nation Life Insurance and Stern Group". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Commons. 12 November 1975. col. 815–816.
  8. ^ "Nation Life (Liquidation)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Commons. 15 December 1975. col. 958–960.
  9. ^ "Crown Agents (Financial Assistance)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Commons. 20 December 1976. col. 115–158.
  10. ^ "Man Alive: The Rise and Fall of William Stern". BBC. 1974.
  11. ^ "Halberstam & Anor v Gladstar Ltd / [2005] EWHC 179 (QB)". Casemine. 2005. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  12. ^ {{cite web |title=Halbertsam & Anor v Gladstar Ltd
    William Stern
    WebsiteCasemine
  13. ^ Atkinson, Dan (19 April 2000). "Stern & son barred from boardrooms". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  14. ^ "'Devastating': vicar and headteacher among latest UK coronavirus victims". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=William_Stern_(businessman)&oldid=950544521"