Ely Calil (8 December 1945 – 28 May 2018) was a Lebanese businessman holding British citizenship. He was one of the richest men in Britain; ''

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'' estimated his wealth in 2010 to be around £350 million.

Life

His ancestry can be traced back to 1920s or 30s when his family set up their home in Turkey after leaving Lebanon, but then returned to Lebanon after Atatürk's policies discriminating against Christians. Before he was born, his family set up an oil mill for groundnut processing in Lebanon in 1941. His father, George Khalil, died in 1970, leaving behind two sons, Ely and Bernard, and was said to have bequeathed £20 million to Ely.

Allegations

In 2002, Calil was arrested in Paris in connection with the

Elf Aquitaine Elf Aquitaine is a French brand of oils and other motor products (such as brake fluids) for automobiles and trucks. Elf is a former petroleum company which merged with TotalFina to form "TotalFinaElf". The new company changed its name to Total ...

scandal but was released on appeal. In 2004, Calil was alleged to be part in the failed coup d'état in Equatorial Guinea and was sought by courts both in

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. It has an area of . Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name refers to its location both near the Equ ...

and South Africa. In September 2004, he was sued by the Equatorial Guinean government for allegedly having raised $750 000 to finance the plot.

Personal life

Ely Calil was a father of six including actor George Calil, and was married three times. His first wife was a

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

tobacco heiress, Frances Condon. They married at a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church in Farm Street,

Mayfair Mayfair is an area of Westminster, London, England, in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. It is between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane and one of the most expensive districts ...

in 1972. They had two children: George and Katherine. His second wife was Lebanese socialite Hayat Emma Mroue who gave him two more children, Karim and May. They divorced in 1985 and afterwards she married property tycoon Lord Palumbo. Calil also has a son Stefan from a relationship with Noor Birol. Calil's third wife was Indian Renuka Jain, with whom he had a daughter, Yasmine. They also went on to divorce. In 2006 he sold his Chelsea home, Sloane House, for an estimated £45 million to

Sir Anthony Bamford Anthony Paul Bamford, Baron Bamford (born 23 October 1945), is a British billionaire businessman who is the chairman of J.C. Bamford Excavators Limited (JCB). He succeeded his father, Joseph Cyril Bamford, as chairman and managing director of ...

. He then lived in a rented £15 million mansion in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

, London. He was known to be very private person and did not give interviews to newspapers, and the press had taken only one photo of him over a forty-year period. In 2008 a gang of burglars targeted his home in Hampstead, but were caught by police and his possessions returned to him. Calil died on 28 May 2018 after a fall down the stairs in his home.

References

External links

Mark Thatcher & Simon Mann's African coup - The Crime library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Calil, Ely 1945 births 2018 deaths Businesspeople from Kano State Lebanese businesspeople British businesspeople British people of Lebanese descent Ely Nigerian emigrants to the United Kingdom Nigerian businesspeople Accidental deaths from falls Accidental deaths in London