Nationality British | Name Tony Murray | |
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Full Name Jacques Gaston Murray Net worth GBP £1.013 billion (April 2015) Children Jean-Jacques Murray, Jean‑Pierre Murray | ||
Jacques Gaston "Tony" Murray (born 8 February 1920) is a French-born British billionaire businessman.
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Murray and his family own Andrew Sykes Group, the heating and air-conditioning equipment hire company, and London Security, the Leeds-based fire protection business which includes the Nu-Swift fire extinguisher brand.
In April 2015, The Sunday Times estimated his net worth at £1.013 billion
Early life
Jacques Gaston Murray was born in Paris in 1920, where his father ran a construction company, which built infrastructure such as bridges. Murray was accepted to study architecture at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris.
Instead, with the start of war, he joined the French Army, and following the Battle of France, escaped on a Polish freighter, and was one of the first Free French to join the Royal Air Force. Murray flew 38 missions for the RAF as a navigator.
His father died in Auschwitz. He was awarded the Legion of Honour by the French government.
Career
In 1982 Murray bought Nu-Swift a Leeds manufacturer of fire-extinguishers then in difficulties, with the businessman Michael Ashcroft. Murrary later "became irritated" by Ashcroft getting too much of the credit for turning round the company.
Personal life
His sons, Jean-Jacques Murray and Jean‑Pierre Murray are both directors of London Security.