Fergus James Kenneth Mackay

Fergus James Kenneth Mackay comes in at number 19 in the Guardian's 'Young Rich List'. At the age of 22 Mackay is set to inherit £50 million. The head of the family is the Earl of Inchcape ^[1]

Fergus Mackay, as he is more commonly known, is descended from a family of colonial merchants who made a vast fortune in India and Hong Kong at the end of the last century, and helped finance the building of the Suez Canal.

Starting with a barony in 1911, the family head moved up to a viscount in 1924, before the earldom arrived in 1929. Mackay's grandfather was a significant landowner in Scotland, but the wealth is now in a family trust and the family live on their small estate in Wiltshire.

The family has a three per cent stake in the Inchcape Corporation - which over the past 18 months has sold off several business divisions, from bottling plants in Chile to global shipping services, to concentrate on its core motor business - trading in 30 countries. The sell-offs raised £600m, but the transition to global vehicle distributor was complete when Inchcape paid just £6m for a stake in Autobytel.Europe and took its car business online. ^[2]

Notes

1. ^ Tom O'Sullivan Special Report: The Young Rich The Guardian March 12th 2000
2. ^ Ibid.