The web of influence of HTB philanthropist and media owner Sir Paul Marshall

Mar 29, 2024 by Jill

from Religion Media Centre:

Andrew Graystone has written for Prospect magazine on the influence of Sir Paul Marshall, an evangelical Christian, committed member of Holy Trinity Brompton, investor in GB news and prospective owner of The Telegraph and the Spectator. He was in the headlines recently for liking tweets critical of Islam.

The article paints the picture of a man attempting to shift the culture of society and the CofE, from a position of enormous wealth which he freely donates. He is said to be worth around £800 million from his work as a hedge fund manager, and has given millions to CofE projects. He set up St Pauls’ Theological Centre which then created St Mellitus training college, an off shoot of HTB where hundreds of ordinands are trained; and he funded the Centre for Cultural Witness based at Lambeth Palace, which produces the Seen and Unseen website on Christianity in public life. Through The Sequoia Trust, which he chairs, he gave £10m to the Church Revitalisation Trust, which rejuvenates congregations and plants new churches, and £1m to HTB, a church which has spawned hundreds in its likeness across England and which nurtured the faith of the Archbishop of Canterbury. Andrew Graystone says Sir Paul’s vision is of liberalism, freedom and the sovereignty of the individual and his acquisition of media outlets means he is acquiring a place as a major influencer on the right and kingmaker of the Conservative party.

Article here and podcast here