FB ROUNDUP: Magnus Rausing, Trudy Busch Valentine, Akshata Murty
Tetra Pak heir Magnus Rausing finances Hollywood production company
Magnus Rausing, the great-grandson of Tetra Pak packaging technology pioneer Ruben Andersson and heir to the multi-billion Tetra Laval fortune, has revealed his investment in Dark Dreams Entertainment, the production company owned by Magic Mike and I Am Number Four actor Alex Pettyfer.
According to Deadline, Dark Dreams, which Pettyfer runs with manager-producer James Ireland, has had “substantial” backing from Rausing and will take a place on the company’s board as an executive.
Since turning angel investor, Rausing has ploughed his fortune into multiple startups, from Swedish fintech company Zaver to plant-based energy drink Matchabar. Although he has made previous low-profile forays into movie financing, this is his first film investment to be made public.
The backing fuels a three-picture deal, which will include Paris-based thriller Blurred; an adaptation of the Craig Clevenger novel The Contortionist’s Handbook; and Formula One legend James Hunt biopic The Weekend.
Magnus Rausing’s father Jörn Rausing, who runs Tetra Laval along with his two brothers, has a personal fortune of $9.4 billion, according to Forbes.
Trudy Busch Valentine discusses US senator candidacy
Anheuser-Busch heir Trudy Busch Valentine has spoken about her decision to jump into politics by running for Missouri’s open US Senate seat.
A registered nurse and member of the family that sold a majority stake in brewing company Anheuser-Busch to InBev in 2008 for $52 billion, Valentine is one of 11 candidates seeking the Democratic nomination to succeed retiring Republican senator Roy Blunt.
“I was raised by parents who lived the American dream and I was taught to be independent and serve others,” she said to The Independent of her family, which has an estimated combined wealth of $17.6 billion according to Forbes. “I’m running for the Senate because I want everybody to live their American dream.”
Valentine, who is self-funding her campaign, has said she will focus on fixing “a broken and unfair” political system. “We need more acts of kindness and less division,” she said.
Valentine, who was married to John Dee Valentine until his death in 2002, has six children and eight grandchildren. One of her sons, Matthew, died of an opioid overdose in 2020 and this has driven her to tackle the issue head on if she is elected.
“I know the pain that the opioid epidemic has brought to Missouri,” she said, “And I’m ready to fight for real solutions. People in Missouri can always count on me to lead with those values. I think that’s what’s really missing in politics.”
Akshata Murty develops a host of big-ticket investments
The family office of Akshata Murty has been developing a host of investments through her private firm, Catamaran Ventures UK, according to previously unreported filings.
The billionaire wife of the British Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak is an early backer of private investment community dara5 and has invested in luxury British furniture marketplace The New Craftsmen, alongside shareholders including Rupert Murdoch's oldest daughter Prudence and London’s Park Tower Hotel-owning Al Tajir family.
Ranked No. 222 in the annual Sunday Times Rich List, Murty has a personal net worth of £730 million, mostly thanks to her shares in Infosys Ltd, the software firm founded by her father Narayana Murty.
Catamaran Ventures, which oversees $1 billion in assets under management (including holdings in esports, insurance, and Elon Musk's Space Exploration Technologies Corp), is described by Akshata Murty as “A family office based in London and Bangalore that focuses in the UK on local brands that need capital, management expertise and network partners.”
Since helping to set up the UK arm of her family office, Murty has been a director of Eton College uniform outfitter New & Lingwood and a director of in-administration fitness company Digme. Catamaran's other investments include a co-investment with British hedge fund manager Hugh Sloane to launch Wendy's fast-food restaurants in India.
