Jonathan Harmsworth, 4th Viscount Rothermere

Jonathan Harold Esmond Vere Harmsworth, 4th Viscount Rothermere (born 3 December 1967), is a British peer and owner of a newspaper and media empire founded by his great-grandfather Harold Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Rothermere. He is the chairman and controlling shareholder of the Daily Mail and General Trust, formerly "Associated Newspapers", a media conglomerate which includes the Daily Mail.

The Right Honourable The Viscount Rothermere
Member of the House of Lords
Lord Temporal
In office 1 September 1998 – 11 November 1999 as a hereditary peer
Preceded by	The 3rd Viscount Rothermere
Succeeded by	Seat abolished [a]
Personal details
Born	Jonathan Harold Esmond Vere Harmsworth (1967-12-03) 3 December 1967 (age 57)
Nationality	British
Spouse	Claudia Caroline Clemence ​ ​ (m. 1993)​
Children	6
Parents	Vere Harmsworth, 3rd Viscount Rothermere Patricia Matthews
Education	Gordonstoun School
Alma mater	Duke University
Occupation	Publisher

Early life and career

Lord Rothermere was educated at Gordonstoun School and Duke University.^[1]

Harmsworth held various positions in Associated Newspapers and was managing director of the Evening Standard, when the sudden death of his father in 1998 resulted in his becoming the controlling shareholder^[2] and chairman of Associated and of its parent Daily Mail and General Trust just before his 31st birthday. One change he has instituted since becoming chairman is requiring directors to retire at age 75.

He has non-domicile (non-dom) tax status and owns his media businesses through a complex structure of offshore holdings and trusts.^[3]

According to the International Business Times:

The Daily Mail owner did not deny claiming tax concessions as "non-dom", though he insisted this was because his father had lived in France. Lord Rothermere acquired France as his "domicile of birth" upon his birth as his father acquired a French "domicile of choice" by becoming a tax exile in Paris.^[4]

In 2013, Private Eye reported that the non-dom status could be in doubt because of his stately home, Ferne House in Wiltshire, and status as a Freeman of the City of London.^[3]

He was a supporter of the then Conservative Party leader David Cameron.^[5]

He ranked fourth in the Publishing, Advertising, and PR section of the Sunday Times Rich List of 2013 with an estimated wealth of £720 million.^[6] In April 2015, The Sunday Times estimated his net worth at £1 billion.^[7]

The BBC's Newsnight programme at the end of January 2017 reported that David Cameron, when Prime Minister, had approached Lord Rothermere to sack Eurosceptic Paul Dacre, the editor of the Daily Mail in the run up to the 2016 EU membership referendum.^[8] A representative of Lord Rothermere refused to confirm or deny the story, although a spokesman for Cameron confirmed that he had tried to persuade both Dacre and Rothermere over the vote. Rothermere's representative told the media: "Over the years, Lord Rothermere has been leant on by more than one prime minister to remove Associated Newspapers' editors but, as he told Lord Justice Leveson on oath, he does not interfere with the editorial policies of his papers".^[9]

Lord Rothermere chairs the Imperial War Museum foundation, following the tradition set by his great grandfather, the first Viscount.^[10]

Personal life

Rothermere married Claudia DeVriese, daughter of Terence J. Clemence, on 15 July 1993.^[11] They have five children:^{[citation needed]}

• Vere Richard Jonathan Harold (born November 1994)^[12]
• Eleanor Patricia Margaret (born November 1996)^[13]
• Theodora Mairi Ferne (born July 2001)^[14]
• Iris Geraldine Lilian (born 2004)
• Alfred Northcliffe St. John (born 2010)

In 2002, The Guardian reported that Rothermere had fathered at least one more child prior to his marriage.^[15] Rothermere confirmed this in his testimony to the Leveson Inquiry.^[16]

Arms

Coat of arms of Jonathan Harmsworth, 4th Viscount Rothermere

Coronet A Coronet of a Viscount Crest Between two Ostrich Feathers Or a Cubit Arm erect proper the hand grasping a Roll of Paper Or Escutcheon Azure two Scrolls of Paper in saltire Or banded in the centre Gules between four Bees volant of the second Supporters On either side a Gladiator fully habited and accoutred the dexter holding in the exterior hand a Sword and the sinister holding on the exterior arm a Shield all proper each charged on the breast with a Fountain Motto Bene Qui Sedulo (He who acts diligently acts well)

Notes

1. Pursuant to the House of Lords Act 1999.