Tony Blair’s son Euan worth almost £73million after start-up Multiverse valued at £147million
Tony Blair’s son Euan, 37, is worth almost £73million after education start-up Multiverse he founded is valued at £147million
- Euan Blair is the founder of start-up firm WhiteHat, now re-named as Multiverse
- The London-based apprenticeship firm was valued at £147million by investment
- It means the 37-year-old’s shares could make him worth more than father Tony
- The edutech firm secured £32million in investment to create up to 200 new jobs
Tony Blair‘s son Euan could now be worth almost £73million after the education technology start-up he founded was valued at £147million.
The London-based firm, which finds apprenticeship places and provides training for non-graduate students, has announced plans for a global expansion after securing a new £32million investment.
The investment values the company, named Multiverse, at £147million. It means Mr Blair’s son Euan, 37, who owns an almost 50 per cent stake in the firm, could now be worth up to £73million.
It also means the investment banker-turned-entrepreneur could be richer than his former Labour Prime Minister father, who, according to the Telegraph, had an estimated wealth of around £60million in 2015.
Tony Blair’s son Euan (pictured with wife Suzanne Ashman on their wedding day in 2013) could now be worth up to £73million after the education technology start-up he founded was valued at £147million
The investment banker-turned-entrepreneur could now be richer than his former Labour Prime Minister father (pictured), who, according to the Telegraph , had an estimated wealth of around £60million in 2015
As a young boy, Euan was occasionally photographed outside the steps of Downing Street with his mother, father and siblings Nicholas and Kathryn (all pictured). His youngest brother, Leo, was born in 2000
The latest funding boost for the Marylebone-based firm, founded in 2016, comes after it received a £600,000 cash injection from a mystery investor in 2017.
The company, then named WhiteHat, made a £404,016 loss in its first year, due to ‘administrative expenses’ of £498,727. But the interest-free loan helped keep the company in the black.
Who is Tony Blair’s son Euan?
Euan Blair is the eldest son of former Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair and wife Cherie.
He was born in London in 1984, thirteen years before his father’s New Labour stormed to power in a landslide election victory in 1997.
As a young boy, he was occasionally photographed outside the steps of Downing Street with his mother, father and siblings Nicholas and Kathryn. His youngest brother, Leo, was born in 2000.
As a young boy, he was occasionally photographed outside the steps of Downing Street with his mother, father and siblings Nicholas and Kathryn
Euan attended catholic boys school, The London Oratory School, in Fulham, and was made a headboy.
Blair Junior, as he was sometimes referred, later attended Bristol University in the UK and prestigious Yale in the US before opting for a career in investment banking with Morgan Stanley.
In 2013 Euan married long-term girlfriend Suzanne Ashman – the daughter of motor-racing entrepreneur Jonathan Ashman – who is a partner at venture capital firm Local Globe.
The couple were wed at the All Saints Parish Church in Wooton Underwood, Buckinghamshire before heading to a reception at the nearby Blair family mansion.
Later that year the pair moved into a £3.6million Georgian townhouse in Marylebone – near to the headquarters of his edutech start-up firm WhiteHat.
The company was launched in 2016. It has since been re-branded as Multiverse.
In 2017, at the age of 29, wife Suzanne was listed as a prominent European financier on prestigious business publication Forbes’s 30 under 30 list.
In 2018, Euan became an uncle after brother Nicholas and his wife Alexandra welcomed a baby girl – the first grandchild of Tony and Cherie.
Spokesmen for the Blairs decline to comment on whether they gave WhiteHat its ‘capital contribution’ when asked by the Daily Mail in 2017.
The firm, which has previously received funding from the Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates-backed investment fund Village Global, is described on its website as a ‘tech startup democratising access to the best careers’.
Its aim is to encourage new ways to promote young talent pushed aside by the traditional university-to-graduate scheme route, often used by large multi-national corporations.
Mr Blair, who attended both Bristol University in the UK and Yale in the US before beginning entering an investment banking career with finance giant Morgan Stanley, says the current model is ‘fundamentally broken’.
He said: ‘(It) too often fails to give people the skills they need and not spreading opportunity fairly across society.
‘We’re building an outstanding alternative to both the university system, and to a corporate training model that rarely delivers long-term impact and genuine results.
‘There are many different ways for people to be successful and we’re empowering people from diverse communities to access the very best opportunities through apprenticeships as they embark on a successful and fulfilling career.’
Mr Blair Junior, whose father used a 1999 speech to set a target of 50 per cent of young people going into higher education, has in the past criticised the UK’s ‘obsession’ with a ‘one size fits all university education’, saying it ‘could cause a skills crisis’.
Last year he claimed society had been divided by a 30-year preoccupation with university, which he says can leave people without the necessary basic skills to be successful.
And he warned about the increasing number of graduates who do not have non-graduates in their circle of friends – saying it should be ‘setting off alarm bells’.
His firm is focusing on finding apprenticeships for 18-24 year olds not heading to university.
The company aims to match non-graduate talent with apprenticeship opportunities at top UK companies using the latest technology.
The firm says apprenticeships should be ‘prioritised as a way of empowering young people to build great careers’.
One particular focus is to help more people from diverse backgrounds secure jobs in the technology sector.
Meanwhile, the new investment, led by American venture capital firm General Catalyst, which previously backed social media site Snapchat, will be used to create up to 200 new jobs as part of a UK-wide expansion, company chiefs say.
The firm, which has also received financial backing from Google’s venture capital arm GV, also plans to launch a New York office next month.
Existing investors include Sky’s executive chairman, Jeremy Darroch.
Lightspeed Ventures and Index Ventures, which contributed to an £11millinon fundraising drive last year, also put in new money.
The edutech company currently boasts a client network of more than 300 firms in Europe including Facebook, Morgan Stanley, KPMG, Fujitsu, Capita, Kantar, Skanska, Citi and Microsoft.
The company, originaly launched as WhiteHat (pictured with WhiteHat co-founder Sophie Adelman), boasts a client network of more than 300 firms in Europe including Facebook, Morgan Stanley, KPMG, Fujitsu, Capita, Kantar, Skanska, Citi and Microsoft
It tripled the number of apprentices it trains to more than 2,000 in the last year.
Bosses say that by bringing its programmes overseas it will help ‘spread opportunities to build successful and fulfilling careers through apprenticeships’.
Joel Cutler, managing director and co-founder of key investor General Catalyst, said: ‘A four year degree should not be a prerequisite to reaching your fullest professional potential.
‘Euan and his team at Multiverse are building a path for ambitious people to land quality, career-enhancing jobs at some of the most recognizable companies in the world.
‘They’ve achieved so much already in the UK and we’re looking forward to partnering with them as they expand their mission stateside.’
Jeremy Duggan, President and board member at Multiverse, who recently joined the firm, said: ‘At Multiverse we have the goal to not only do that, but also to help thousands of talented people to transform their lives professionally, and in doing so help to transform the businesses of our clients.
‘More than any other tech company today, Multiverse is driving incredible growth and scale, but in a way that also delivers real value to society by generating wonderful opportunities for a new and diverse generation.
‘Over the course of the conversations we’ve been having with investors for this funding round it’s been incredibly exciting seeing their enthusiasm for our special mission.’
