The Weston family is a prominent family of businesspeople that was founded in Canada and eventually developed global business interests, primarily in the food and retail sectors. [1] The family operations began with the purchase of a bakery in 1884 by American-born Canadian George Weston in Toronto, Ontario. [2] Over the course of subsequent decades, his descendants also established themselves in the United Kingdom, Ireland and the United States.
Through George Weston Limited and various holding companies, the Canadian branch of the Weston family currently owns or controls over 200 companies, including the Loblaws supermarket chain and the Shoppers Drug Mart pharmacy chain. Among their other businesses, members of this branch own or control several additional retailers, including Holt Renfrew in Canada. [3] They previously owned other upscale department stores in the Selfridges Group, including Selfridges in the UK, Brown Thomas and Arnotts in Ireland, and De Bijenkorf in the Netherlands. [4] [5]
The main holding company of the British branch of the family is Wittington Investments. 79.2% of this company belongs to a British charitable trust called the Garfield Weston Foundation, with the balance owned by various family members. Wittington Investments owns a majority stake in Associated British Foods (which itself owns the discount clothing chain Primark), and 100% of British retailers Fortnum & Mason and Heal's.
In 2021, The Sunday Times named the Weston family among the most charitable people over the past 20 years, with donations of £1.661 billion. [6] [7]
In 2018, the Westons were named Ireland's richest family for the tenth year running, with a wealth of €11.42 billion. [8]
In the Sunday Times Rich List 2020 ranking of the wealthiest people in the UK, "Guy Weston, Galen Weston Jr., George G. Weston and family" placed 8th in the list, with an estimated family fortune of £10.53 billion. [9]
Loblaw Companies Limited is a Canadian retailer encompassing corporate and franchise supermarkets operating under 22 regional and market-segment banners, as well as pharmacies, banking and apparel. Loblaw operates a private label program that includes grocery and household items, clothing, baby products, pharmaceuticals, cellular phones, general merchandise and financial services. Loblaw is the largest Canadian food retailer, and its brands include President's Choice, No Name and Joe Fresh. It is controlled by George Weston Limited, a holding company controlled by the Weston family; Galen G. Weston, is the chair of the Loblaw board of directors, as well as chair of the board of directors and CEO of Canada-based holding company George Weston.
Willard Gordon Galen Weston was a British-Canadian billionaire businessman and Chairman Emeritus of George Weston Limited, a Canadian food processing and distribution company. Weston and his family, with an estimated net worth of US$8.7 billion, are listed as the third wealthiest in Canada and 178th in the world by Forbes magazine.
Hilary Mary Weston is an Irish–Canadian businesswoman and writer who served as the 26th Lieutenant Governor of Ontario from 1997 to 2002. During her five-year tenure, Weston focused on issues related to women, volunteerism and young people, drawing public attention to people working with the homeless, in hospices and as mentors to at-risk youth.
Selfridges, also known as Selfridges & Co., is a chain of upscale department stores in the United Kingdom that is operated by Selfridges Retail Limited, part of the Selfridges Group of department stores. It was founded by Harry Gordon Selfridge in 1908.
Harry Gordon Selfridge, Sr. was an American retail magnate who founded the London-based department store Selfridges. His 20-year leadership of Selfridges led to his becoming one of the most respected and wealthy retail magnates in the United Kingdom. He was known as the 'Earl of Oxford Street'.
Holt, Renfrew & Co., Limited is a Canadian luxury department store chain founded in 1837 by William S. Henderson. The original William Ashton & Co. store in Quebec City, Lower Canada operated as a fur shop. The company serviced the greater North American and European markets with its mail order catalog beginning in the late 1800s, and was appointed Furriers in Ordinary to several members of the British royal family from 1886 to 1921.
Associated British Foods plc (ABF) is a British multinational food processing and retailing company headquartered in London, England.
George Weston Limited, often referred to as Weston or Weston's, is a Canadian holding company. Founded by George Weston in 1882, the company today consists of the Choice Properties real estate investment trust and Loblaw Companies Limited, Canada's largest supermarket retailer, in which it maintains a controlling interest. Retail brands include President's Choice, No Name and Joe Fresh. The former Weston Bakeries division, which owned the brands Wonder, Country Harvest, D'Italiano, Ready Bake and Gadoua, was sold off to FGF Brands in 2022. The company is controlled by the Weston family, which owns a majority share in George Weston Limited.
Weston as a surname may refer to:
Willard Garfield Weston was a Canadian businessman and philanthropist who was a member of the prominent Weston family. He led George Weston Limited and its various subsidiaries and associated companies, including Associated British Foods, for half a century and established one of the world's largest food processing and distribution concerns. He also served as a Member of Parliament (MP) in the British House of Commons during World War II.
Garfield Howard "Garry" Weston CBE was a Canadian businessman who was active in the United Kingdom.
Brown Thomas & Company Limited is a chain of five upmarket department stores in Ireland, located in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick and Dundrum. Together with Dublin's Arnotts department store, it is owned by UK-based Selfridges, which in turn is owned by Thai Conglomerate Central Group and Austria's Signa Holding.
The Weston Family Foundation is a Canadian charitable foundation committed to making grants in Canada for the benefit of Canadians. At the end of 2016, the foundation had over $324 million in assets.
Willard Galen Garfield Weston, known as Galen Weston Jr. or Galen G. Weston, is an Irish-Canadian businessman and a member of the prominent Weston family. He serves as chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of George Weston Limited, as well as executive chairman and president of Loblaw Companies Limited. He is the second child and only son of Galen Weston and Hilary Weston.
Jana Ruth Khayat is a British heiress and businesswoman who is a member of the Weston family. She serves on the board of the Fortnum & Mason department store in London.
The Weston Centre is an office building complex in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located near the corner of Yonge Street and St. Clair Avenue, within walking distance of the St. Clair (TTC) subway station. It is home to the head office of George Weston Limited and subsidiary Choice Properties REIT.
Wittington Investments Limited is a privately owned British holding company. It was incorporated in 1941 and is based in London, England.
Selfridges is a Grade II listed retail premises on Oxford Street in London. It was designed by Daniel Burnham for Harry Gordon Selfridge, and opened in 1909. Still the headquarters of Selfridge & Co. department stores, with 540,000 square feet (50,000 m2) of selling space, the store is the second largest retail premises in the UK. It was named the world's best department store in 2010, and again in 2012.
Anna Catrina "Kate" Hobhouse is a British heiress, businesswoman and philanthropist who is a member of the Weston family. She is the chairman of Fortnum & Mason, an upscale department store located on Piccadilly in London.
Alannah Elizabeth Weston is an Irish-Canadian businesswoman who is the former chairman of the Selfridges Group. She is a member of the Weston family and serves as a director of the family's holding company, Wittington Investments.