Robert Maxwell | |
|---|---|
 Maxwell at the Global Economic Panel in Amsterdam (1989) | |
| Member of Parliament for Buckingham | |
| In office 15 October 1964 – 29 May 1970 | |
| Preceded by | Sir Frank Markham |
| Succeeded by | Sir Bill Benyon |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Ján Ludvík Hyman Binyamin Hoch 10 June 1923 Slatinské Doly, Czechoslovakia (now Solotvyno, Ukraine) |
| Died | 5 November 1991 (aged 68) Sea around the Canary Islands, Spain |
| Resting place | Mount of Olives Jewish Cemetery, Jerusalem, Israel |
| Citizenship | Czechoslovak British (1946–1991) |
| Political party | Labour |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 9, including Christine, Isabel, Ian, Kevin and Ghislaine |
| Occupation |
|
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
|
| Branch/service | |
| Years of service | 1940–1945 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
| Awards | Military Cross |
Ian Robert Maxwell MC (born Ján Ludvík Hyman Binyamin Hoch; 10 June 1923 – 5 November 1991) was a Czechoslovak-born British media proprietor, politician and fraudster.[1][2]
After escaping the Nazi occupation of his native country, Maxwell joined the Czechoslovak Army in exile during World War II and was decorated after active service in the British Army. In subsequent years he worked in publishing, building up Pergamon Press to a major academic publisher. After six years as a Labour Member of Parliament (MP) during the 1960s, Maxwell again put all his energy into business, successively buying the British Printing Corporation, Mirror Group Newspapers and Macmillan Publishers, among other publishing companies.
Robert Maxwell led a flamboyant lifestyle, living in Headington Hill Hall in Oxford, from which he often flew in his helicopter, or sailing in his luxury yacht, the Lady Ghislaine, named after his daughter Ghislaine. Maxwell was litigious and often embroiled in controversy. In 1989, he had to sell successful businesses, including Pergamon Press, to cover some of his debts. In 1991, his body was discovered floating in the Atlantic Ocean, having apparently fallen overboard from his yacht. He was buried in Jerusalem.
Maxwell's death triggered the collapse of his publishing empire as banks called in loans. His sons briefly attempted to keep the business together, but failed as the news emerged that the elder Maxwell had embezzled hundreds of millions of pounds from his own companies' pension funds. The Maxwell companies applied for bankruptcy protection in 1992. After Maxwell's death, large discrepancies in his companies' finances were revealed, including his fraudulent misappropriation of the Mirror Group pension fund.[3]
- ^ "Robert Maxwell's sons speak out about their fraudster father". ITV News. 9 September 2018. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
- ^ Черных, Е. (Chernykh, E.) (3 June 1992). "Максвелл родился в СССР?" [Was Maxwell born in the USSR?]. Комсомольская правда (in Russian). Archived from the original on 14 December 2023. Retrieved 14 December 2023 – via flb.ru.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "A Notorious Fraud – the Robert Maxwell Farrago". Australian Guardians. Archived from the original on 27 August 2014. Retrieved 12 December 2017.