Chis Hohn, 54, hedge fund manager and founder of Children’s Investment (TCI) Fund Management, is probably the richest person of Jamaican descent in the world. In 2020, he received a salary of J$72.1 billion (US$479 million) after his firm had profits of US$696 million. This was more than US$420 million over its 2019 profit total, almost 10 percent of Jamaica’s whole budget of J$853.5 billion for 2020. It was also likely the largest yearly salary paid to any one in the United Kingdom. His 2020 salary was 9,000 times the average salary in the UK and 1,700 times the salary of the UK’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Forbes magazine ranks Hohn at 330th on its list of the richest people in the world with an estimated fortune totaling US$5.9 billion.
Hohn, who is viewed as an activist investor, has been knighted for his large donations to causes that impact children. In 2019, he donated US$386 million through his Children’s Investment Fund Foundation. He is also the largest single donor to Extinction Rebellion, a cause that is trying to reverse the effects of climate change. In April of 2020, he made a donation of £2.4 million to purchase 100 COVID-19 testing machines.
Hohn is the son of Paul and Winnie Hohn of Jamaica. His aunt is Marigold Harding, the former custos of St. Andrew, Jamaica, and wife of Ossie Harding, retired senator of the Jamaica Labor Party. He is cousin to Zachary Harding who currently heads Stocks and Securities Ltd., a Jamaican stock brokerage firm.
Additionally, Hohn once employed the UK’s current Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, who worked as a junior analyst at TCI from 2006 to 2009. Hohn is also known for being involved with one of the largest divorce settlements in UK history, having to provide his former wife with £337 million.
A private person, Hohn is not well known in Jamaica, but he has visited Round Hill to attend its annual Sugarcane Ball. He was honored in 2019 for his continuous support of the Hanover Charities, the second person to be so honored after fashion designer Ralph Lauren. He has an MGA from the Harvard Business School.
Jamaican Michael Lee Chin is the closest rival to Hohn, ranking 1,063th on the Forbes rich list with a fortune totaling US$1.6 billion. This likely makes him Jamaica’s second richest person of Jamaican descent. Other wealthy Jamaicans include the late Butch Stewart of Sandals Resort International and the music mogul Chris Blackwell, neither of whom have made the Forbes list.
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