Edward Whitley is an Author, Financier and

Philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

founder of th
Whitley Fund for Nature
His latest book: Jane Austen and George Eliot: the Lady and the Radical was published b
Biteback Publishing
in March 2025. Edward Whitley studied English at Oxford University (where he won a Blue at Modern Pentathlon) before joining NM Rothschild & Sons in 1983. In 1990 he left banking to work full time as a writer. His books include The Graduates, a collection of interviews with notable public figures including the last interviews with Sir John Betjeman and Mrs Indira Gandhi which was a Private Eye Book of the Year, and Rogue Trader, the autobiography of derivatives trader, Nick Leeson, whose fraudulent trades caused the collapse of Barings Bank. His book Gerald Durrell's Army, about the conservationists working with the naturalist Gerald Durrell, inspired him to create the Whitley Fund for Nature in 1993. The Whitley Fund for Nature, which accelerates the work of grassroots conservationists around the world, is famous for its Whitley Awards (often referred to as The Green Oscars), and over 30 years has channelled more than £24 million to 220 environmentalists in 80 countries. HRH the Princess Royal is patron and Sir David Attenborough has been a long-term supporter, as trustee and ambassador. In 2013 Edward was awarded an OBE for services to wildlife conservation. Edward Whitley set up Whitley Asset Management, a wealth management firm, in 2002, which in October 2024 was sold to Schroder & Co and merged with Cazenove Capital. Edward Whitley was appointed Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) in the 2013 Birthday Honours for services to wildlife conservation.

Books

*''The Graduates'', Hamish Hamilton, 1986. *''Gerald Durrell’s Army'', John Murray, 1992. *''Rogue Trader'', co-authored with

Nick Leeson Nicholas William Leeson (born 25 February 1967) is an English former derivatives trader whose fraudulent, unauthorised and speculative trades resulted in the 1995 collapse of Barings Bank, the United Kingdom's oldest existing merchant bank ...

, published by Little Brown, 1996

Footnotes

External links

A book review
by Edward Whitley on David Hughes' biography of Gerald Durrell, archived in 2005 {{DEFAULTSORT:Whitley, Edward Year of birth missing (living people) Living people British philanthropists Officers of the Order of the British Empire