The Canadian billionaire Stephen Smith has bought a stake in the parent company of the Economist, held by Lynn Forester de Rothschild, in only the third significant ownership structure shake-up in its 183-year history.
Smith and his family holding company, Smith Financial Corp, which owns financial businesses, including a co-ownership of the influential proxy advisory group Glass Lewis, has acquired a 26.9% stake in the Economist Group (TEG) for an undisclosed sum.
Last year it was reported that the family banking dynasty’s holding in the media group, which also includes 20% of the voting shares, was worth about $537m (£402m).
TEG is the parent company of the respected weekly news magazine, the Economist, which the company itself refers to as a newspaper, as well as a digital-only sister publication 1843 Magazine and a business intelligence unit.
It reported revenues of £369m and a profit of £48m in the year to the end of March 2025, while subscriber numbers to the Economist increased by 3% to 1.25 million.
Forester de Rothschild, her family and her family foundation had held a stake in TEG since 2002. Forester de Rothschild is the chief executive of the EL Rothschild private family office and founder of the Council for Inclusive Capitalism, a non-profit organisation.
The deal is subject to approval by the company’s four independent trustees, who are responsible for maintaining the editorial values of the Economist, and TEG’s board of directors.
“This investment reflects Mr Smith’s full support for the Economist’s long‑standing tradition of rigorous editorial independence and will see Tthe Economist’s strategy and operations continue unaffected,” a spokesperson said.
“Mr Smith is a Canadian entrepreneur and investor with significant holdings in leading Canadian financial services businesses, alongside meaningful philanthropic commitments to education, history and the arts.”
According to Smith Financial Corporation, which Smith founded and leads as the chief executive, he chairs Historica Canada, the publisher of the Canadian Encyclopedia, and is an honorary governor of the Royal Ontario Museum. He is also the chair of Glass Lewis. His net worth is estimated at $7bn, according to Forbes.
The Rothschilds started exploring a sale of their entire stake last year, appointing the investment bank Lazard to advise on a deal.
Exor, the investment company led by the Fiat heir John Elkann, is the largest single shareholder in the Economist, with a 43.4% stake. TEG owns about 30%, and other shareholders include members of the Cadbury and Schroder families.
Under TEG’s ownership rules no single shareholder can control more than 20% of the voting rights.
In 2015, Exor, which first invested in TEG in 2009, paid £287m to buy most of Pearson’s 50% stake, which increased its holding from 4.7% to 43.4%.
Pearson, which bought the stake along with the Financial Times in 1957, also sold part of its stake directly to TEG for £182m.
Pearson sold the Financial Times to the Japanese media conglomerate Nikkei in 2015 for £844m.
A spokesperson for TEG said: “We can confirm that Stephen Smith, together with his family holding company Smith Financial, has entered into an agreement to acquire a 26.9% minority stake in the Economist Group from existing shareholders, Lady Lynn Forester de Rothschild, her family and her family foundation, subject to certain closing conditions.”
