Osborne to lead investment fund backed by Italian dynasty

GEORGE OSBORNE has been appointed as chairman of a $3bn (£2.4bn) London-based investment fund, adding yet another job to the former chancellor’s portfolio.

The 51-year-old has been brought in to lead Lingotto Investment Management, a new venture backed by Dutch conglomerate Exor and French insurance giant Covéa.

Exor is owned by the Agnelli family, the Italian dynasty of Fiat co-founder Giovanni Agnelli.

Mr Osborne has been chairman of the company’s partners’ council for the past five years, but will step back from that role as he takes up his new job.

He will retain several other roles, however, including chairman of the British Museum; president of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership; partner at boutique City advisory firm Robey Warshaw; managing partner at venture capital firm 9yards Capital; and director at Osborne & Little, his family’s wallpaper business.

Mr Osborne was Conservative MP for Tatton until he stood down in 2017. He was editor of the Evening Standard from 2017 to 2020, and has worked as an adviser to investment giant Blackrock.

His appointment at Lingotto was first reported by the Financial Times.

John Elkann, chairman of car maker Stellantis and head of the Agnelli family businesses, told the paper Lingotto was a fund for talented investment managers “which is entrepreneurial and much focused on letting them do what they’re good at”.

Another hire at Lingotto is James Anderson, the former star fund manager of Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust, who will launch a $500m fund focused on public and private innovation.