Johan Eliasch was born in February 1962, in Djursholm, Sweden. Eliasch is the grandson of G. A. Svensson, a leading Swedish industrialist who "made a killing in real estate".
Career
Eliasch began his career in turning around companies in 1985, when he joined the London-based private equity firmTufton Group. According to The Sunday Times Rich List in 2020 his net worth was estimated at £2.2 billion.
Political activity
Eliasch, a conservative, served in the British government as a non-political special representative of the then Labour Party prime minister Gordon Brown on deforestation and clean energy from 2007 to 2010. He served in different roles for the Conservative Party between 1999 and 2007, as party deputy treasurer, special advisor to the leaders of the opposition and shadow foreign secretaries . He covered Shadow Foreign Relations as part of the Shadow Foreign Office team. In 2006 he and Michael Ancram set up Global Strategy Forum, a foreign-affairs think tank based in London; he remains president. He was a member of the Austrian president's delegation of State for Trade and Industry 1996–2006. He was chairman of the Young Conservatives Party in Djursholm, Sweden.
Other activity
He is chairman of Equity Partners, on the board of directors of Aman Resorts, London Films, the Foundation for Renewable Energy and Environment, Longleat and Pitch@Palace Global. He is an advisory board member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Polar Regions, Brasilinvest, and the Stockholm Resilience Centre. He is the first president of the Global Strategy Forum, and chairman of the Saatchi Gallery. He has also served on the boards of IMG and the British Paralympics Association, the sports advisory board of Shimon Peres Peace Centre, the advisory boards of the World Peace Foundation, Societe du Louvre, the Centre for Social Justice 2004–2015, the British Olympic Association and Capstar. He was non-executive chairman and a non-executive director of Starr Managing Agents. He was non-executive chairman of Investcorp Europe. He was non-executive director of Acasta Enterprises. He was a member of the Mayors of Jerusalem and Rome's International Business Advisory Councils. He was a trustee of the Kew Foundation. He chaired the Food, Energy and Water security program at RUSI. He was a member of the Mayor of London's International Business Advisory Council.
Environmental causes
In 2005, Eliasch created the Rainforest Trust and purchased for preservation purposes a rainforest area in the heart of the Amazon rainforest near the Madeira River. In 2006, he co-founded Cool Earth, a charity he co-chairs, which sponsors local NGOs to conserve endangered rainforest and has over 120,000 registered members. In 2007 he was commissioned by HM Government to undertake an independent review on the role of international finance mechanisms to preserve the global forests in tackling climate change, 'The Eliasch Review' , which was launched by the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown at 10 Downing Street in October 2008. The Eliasch Review has served as a guideline for REDD as part of the international climate change convention.
Personal life
Eliasch was married to Amanda Eliasch, a photographer and filmmaker, from 1988 to 2006; and they have two sons. Their son Charles Eliasch is an opera singer.
Controversy
In June 2008, the Brazilian and international media reported that the company Gethal, owned by Eliasch, had been issued a fine of R$450 million for alleged illegal deforestation in the Amazon region by IBAMA. Gethal was investigated facing a possible fine but after the investigation ended, Gethal was not fined. Eliasch did not own Gethal at the time when the activities under investigation took place. In a press release note, Gethal stated that “the logging activity of Gethal Amazonas S/A had been out under the Forest Steward Council guidelines, a certification that was obtained in 2000. The company was one of the first companies in Brazil to obtain such a certification”. According to Gethal, technical expert reports were produced proving that the company never caused damage to the environment. Gethal stopped the logging activities in 2005, “when it came under Eliasch's control”. In 2008, a publication of Brazilian government documents shows IBAMA never made any allegations against Eliasch and cancels R$274.2 million fines against Gethal.
