John Damian Androcles Aspinall (born 24 May 1960) is an English businessman and conservationist. He is the chairman of

The Aspinall Foundation The Aspinall Foundation (formerly The John Aspinall Foundation) is a British charity that promotes wildlife conservation. It was set up by casino owner John Aspinall in 1984 and runs the two zoos he established, Port Lympne Wild Animal Park and H ...

, founded by his father, which has raised and released several zoo-bred

lowland gorilla The western lowland gorilla (''Gorilla gorilla gorilla'') is one of two Critically Endangered subspecies of the western gorilla (''Gorilla gorilla'') that lives in Montane ecosystems#Montane forests, montane, Old-growth forest, primary and sec ...

s in

Gabon Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...

. He manages

Howletts Wild Animal Park Howletts Wild Animal Park (formerly known as Howletts Zoo) in the parish of Bekesbourne,Edward Hasted, 'Parishes: Bekesborne', in The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent: Volume 9 (Canterbury, 1800), pp. 266-27/ref> near Canter ...

and

Port Lympne Wild Animal Park Port Lympne Hotel & Reserve near the town of Hythe, Kent, England is set in and incorporates the historic Port Lympne Mansion, and landscaped gardens designed by architect Sir Herbert Baker, for Sir Philip Sassoon. The estate with an Edwardi ...

Early life

Aspinall is the son of Jane Gordon Hastings (died 2001), a Scottish model, and John Victor Aspinall (1926-2000), a casino and zoo owner, founder of Crown London Aspinalls, conservationist, and the stepson of

Sir George Francis Osborne, 16th Baronet Sir George Francis Osborne, 16th Baronet, (27 July 1894 – 21 July 1960) was an Anglo-Irish baronet and British Army officer. He was decorated for gallantry during the First World War. Biography Osborne was born on 27 July 1894. He was t ...

. When he was six years old, in 1966, Aspinall's parents went through a bitter divorce as a result of

adultery Adultery is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal consequences, the concept ...

by his mother. His father won custody and immediately sent him to

Millfield Millfield is a public school (English fee-charging boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–18) located in Street, Somerset, England. It was founded in 1935. Millfield is a registered charity and is the largest co-educational boarding ...

, a

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...

Street, Somerset Street is a large village and civil parish in Somerset, England, with a population of 12,709 in 2021. On a dry spot in the Somerset Levels, at the end of the Polden Hills, it is southwest of Glastonbury. There is evidence of Roman occupation. ...

. Partially as a result of the direction of his father, Aspinall never saw his mother again. In 1972, Aspinall's father married Lady Sarah Maguerite ('Sally') Aspinall (née Curzon) (1945-2025). She was the widow of the racing driver

Piers Courage Piers Raymond Courage (27 May 1942 – 21 June 1970) was a British racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Courage participated in 29 World Championship Formula One Grands Prix for Lotus, Parnell and Frank Williams, debuting a ...

and daughter of

Francis Curzon, 5th Earl Howe Francis Richard Henry Penn Curzon, 5th Earl Howe, (1 May 1884 – 26 July 1964"Francis Curzon, 5th Earl Howe; Ex-Member of Parliament and Racing Driver Dies". ''The New York Times'' (Monday, 27 July 1964), p. 30.), styled as Viscount Curzon f ...

. At age 16, Aspinall left school to travel the world and taught himself to play the guitar.

Business career

At age 20, Aspinall traveled to Australia, where he became the country's best-selling encyclopaedia salesman. In the 1980s, he returned to the UK and bought investment property. He sold his investment properties in the late 1980s, before the

early 1990s recession The early 1990s recession describes the period of economic downturn affecting much of the Western world in the early 1990s. The impacts of the recession contributed in part to the 1992 U.S. presidential election victory of Bill Clinton over incum ...

. After his father's death in 2000, Aspinall was left very little of the family fortune. However, he and Australian associate

James Packer James Douglas Packer (born 8 September 1967) is an Australian billionaire businessman and investor. Packer is the son of Kerry Packer, a media mogul, and his wife, Roslyn Packer. He is the grandson of Frank Packer. He inherited control of th ...

, son of

Kerry Packer Kerry Francis Bullmore Packer (17 December 1937 – 26 December 2005) was an Australian media tycoon, and was considered one of Australia's most powerful media proprietors of the twentieth century. The Packer family company owned a controlling ...

, bought Crown London Aspinalls from his father's estate. In 2001, he expanded his casino investments with a £44 million reverse takeover of another casino company. During the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, his casino business received £10.7 million in government support; however, it continued to realize losses after the pandemic ended. Damian resigned from the board of directors of the casino group and gave up his interest in 2023.

Conservation efforts

Personal life

Net worth

In 2012, Aspinall's net worth was estimated at £42 million. In 2018, it was estimated at £200 million.

Politics

Aspinall is a donor to the

Tories A Tory () is an individual who supports a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalist conservatism which upholds the established social order as it has evolved through the history of Great Britain. The T ...

. He supported

Brexit Brexit (, a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February ...

. In 1997, he supported

James Goldsmith Sir James Michael Goldsmith (26 February 1933 – 18 July 1997) was a French-British financier and politician who was a member of the Goldsmith family. His controversial business and finance career led to ongoing clashes with British media, fr ...

Referendum Party The Referendum Party was a Eurosceptic, single-issue party, single-issue political party that was active in the United Kingdom from 1994 to 1997. The party's sole objective was for a referendum to be held on the nature of the UK's membership ...

Relationships and children

Aspinall has said he has been adverse to marriage since in his opinion, divorce laws favor women such that rich men should not marry. Aspinall was married to Louise Elizabeth Julia Sebag-Montefiore for 15 years, from July 1987 to 2002. Louise is the mother of Aspinall's 2 eldest daughters, Tansy (born 1989) and Clary (born 1992). The divorce was a result of Aspinall's adultery with

Kirsty Bertarelli Kirsty Bertarelli (née Roper; born 30 June 1971) is a British songwriter and beauty pageant titleholder who won Miss United Kingdom 1988 and represented her country at Miss World 1988 and placed 2nd Runner-up, she is former wife of Ernesto Berta ...

. Towards the end of that relationship, he also dated

Erica Packer Erica Louise Packer (née Baxter; born 16 August 1977) is an Australian former singer, former model and former second wife of James Packer, Australia's eighth richest man. Early life Erica Baxter was born in Gunnedah, northwest New South Wales ...

. He continued to support his ex-wife after their divorce. From 2001 to 2007, he dated

Donna Air Donna Marie Theresa Air (born 2 August 1979) is an English actress, producer and philanthropist. Early life and education Donna Marie Theresa Air was born on 2 August 1979, in Gosforth, North Tyneside, to receptionist Marie (née Lackenby) and ...

, the mother of his third daughter, Freya (born September 2003). Freya is a model and

Internet celebrity An Internet celebrity, also referred to as an Internet personality, is an individual who has acquired or developed their fame and notability on the Internet. The growing popularity of social media provides a means for people to reach a large ...

who left school at 16 to join her father at

with the goal of eventually being chairperson. All three daughters are involved in conservation. From 2008 to 2009, he dated

Elle Macpherson Eleanor Nancy Macpherson ( ; ; born ) is an Australian model, businesswoman, television host, and actress. She is known for her record five cover appearances for the ''Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue'' beginning in the 1980s, leading to her ...

. He also dated

Naomi Campbell Naomi Elaine Campbell (born 22 May 1970) is a British supermodel. Beginning her career at the age of eight, Campbell was one of six models of her generation declared supermodels by the fashion industry and the international press. She was th ...

Music

Aspinall co-wrote " Don't Worry", a song recorded by

Appleton Appleton may refer to: People and fictional characters * Appleton (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters * Appleton family, an American political, religious and mercantile family * Appleton P. Clark Jr. (1865–1955), Am ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aspinall, Damian 1960 births British businesspeople in real estate Businesspeople in the casino industry English conservationists Living people People educated at Millfield Zoo owners