Sunday Times Rich List 2023; who are the family behind Primark, including the late Galen Weston?

The late Galen Weston and his family are number seven on the Sunday Times Rich List 2023 and have a fortune of £14.5bn. According to The Sunday Times, the family also owned The Grand Hotel in Brighton, which they recently sold. The Sunday Times reports that “A farewell to the Grand provides further evidence of a changing of the guard within the Weston family.

Two years ago, Galen Weston, the Buckinghamshire-born kingpin of the family — died at the age of 80. Not long afterwards the Westons sold Selfridges for £4 billion. The glamorous department store had been one of Galen’s favourite assets. His daughter Alannah, 51, served as chairwoman in the two years leading up to the deal.”

The late Sir Galen Weston’s nephew is Sir Guy Weston, who is the chairman of Wittington Investments, which The Sunday Times reveals “wraps in the family’s stake in Associated British Foods, which in turn owns Twinings tea and Jordans cereal.” Sir Guy Weston’s brother George, is the boss of Primark, who revealed in January 2023 that the retailer will not be moving online. 

Alannah Weston, the daughter of the late Sir Galen, was the former chairman of the Selfridges Group from 2019-2022 (the store loved by the likes of Kate Middleton, Kim Kardashian and Molly Mae-Hague)

In May 2022, she rented a midi dress from Selfridges which was appropriate for the dress code ‘Repair, Reuse, Repurpose’ to celebrate her farewell party at the Old Selfridges Hotel. According to Women’s Wear Daily, “She shouted out to her mother (Hilary Weston), ‘the most beautiful, most inspiring person in my life.” The article goes on to say that the “Weston family sold the store to Thailand’s Central Group and Austria’s Signa, in a deal said to be worth 4 billion pounds.”

According to Alannah Weston’s Linkedln profile, “Weston’s mission is to empower talented people to create extraordinary experiences within human and planetary boundaries.” In 2020, she launched her podcast, ‘How to Lead a Sustainable Business.”