Urs Schwarzenbach
Urs Schwarzenbach | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 17, 1948 Thalwil, Switzerland |
| Occupation(s) | Financier, art connoisseur, businessman |
| Known for | Founder of Interexchange; owner of Culham Court and Grand Hotel Dolder; art collector |
Urs Ernst Schwarzenbach, CStJ (born 17 September 1948), is a Swiss billionaire, financier, and art connoisseur. He established Interexchange, which stands as Switzerland's leading foreign currency exchange firm. In 2022, his fortune was assessed by Handelszeitung to be between 1.5 and 2 billion Swiss francs.
For many years, Schwarzenbach resided in Aston, Berkshire, where he owned Culham Court, before moving to Küsnacht on Lake Zurich, Switzerland.
He encountered legal challenges after importing 83 artworks without declaring them to customs, resulting in a fine of 6 million Swiss francs. Furthermore, in 2022, the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland mandated that he pay 160 million Swiss francs in unpaid taxes.
Early life and education
Born on 17 September 1948 in Thalwil by Lake Zürich, Schwarzenbach is the son of Heinrich Ernst Schwarzenbach (1916–2013), a print shop proprietor commonly known by his middle name Ernst. Raised in a working class household, he has distant ties to the silk manufacturing branch of the Schwarzenbach family.
Career
Schwarzenbach is the founder of Interexchange, Switzerland’s foremost foreign exchange brokerage. Building on this success, he invested in UK real estate valued at over £300 million, properties in Australia, a palace in Morocco, aviation assets worth £17 million, and acquired the esteemed Grand Hotel Dolder in Zürich. He also owns the Black Bears polo team, overseeing approximately 600 ponies divided between Australia and the UK.
He was an investor in the racing-themed establishment Café Grand Prix located in Mayfair, London; however, it was liquidated in 2004. His net worth was estimated at £900 million in 2005, while The Sunday Times Rich List placed him at number 87 with around £850 million in 2012.
In 2007, Schwarzenbach purchased Culham Court, a riverside estate near Henley-on-Thames, for £35 million—substantially higher than its £12 million acquisition price by Sir Martyn Arbib in 1997. The estate has a strong financial pedigree; former owners include banker Michael Behrens.
Schwarzenbach has undertaken significant enhancements at Culham Court, including extending its deer park with wrought iron fencing and constructing a mile-long "London" drive through beech woodland. He invested £8 million to acquire neighboring cottages and original walled gardens for restoration purposes. Additional improvements feature a new ha-ha, sophisticated security installations including a "hard" room, and a maze planted with 20,000 mature yew trees as part of a two-decade landscaping project. A nearby property bought for £2 million was replaced by Culham Chapel. Oxford-based builder Symm manages estate projects and sponsors the Hambleden Horse Trials.
Reports indicate that in 2008 Schwarzenbach acquired Fawley Court for £22 million—a prominent riverside estate near Henley-on-Thames sold under contentious circumstances by the Polish Congregation of Marian Fathers. By 2012, extensive refurbishment efforts were ongoing on the main residence and lodges near the estate entrance, alongside underground developments. That same year, the Schwarzenbach family restricted public access to a permissive footpath along the Thames adjoining Culham Court.
Moreover, Schwarzenbach funded the relocation of overhead high and low voltage power lines underground within the boundaries of the Culham estate.
VAT Evasion and Art Smuggling Involving Galerie Gmurzynska
Between 2013 and 2014, the Federal Customs Administration (FCA) launched an inquiry into Schwarzenbach concerning allegations of VAT evasion estimated at roughly ten million Swiss francs, alongside accusations of art smuggling. Under Swiss legislation, import duties are waived for artwork owners until the pieces are officially entered into the country. On 16 April 2013, Swiss customs officers conducted a raid at Schwarzenbach’s Hotel Dolder in Zurich, known for housing an opulent art collection, as well as at the nearby Galerie Gmurzynska, which was suspected of providing imported artworks worth about 75 million Swiss francs to the hotel without paying the required customs fees.
Numerous documents were confiscated during the operation. Although Galerie Gmurzynska attempted to prevent examination of these records, the Federal Court affirmed that in criminal probes such as this, the FCA has the authority to access pertinent documentation.
This investigation drew considerable international media coverage, including reports by 'Die Welt'. By October 2016, Swiss Customs determined that Schwarzenbach had legally exported artifacts valued at a minimum of 130 million CHF and subsequently smuggled them back into Switzerland. Schwarzenbach acknowledged the allegations and agreed to settle ten million CHF in unpaid VAT but disputed a fine amounting to four million CHF as of that time.
Switzerland
In 2001, Schwarzenbach acquired the prestigious Dolder Grand, a five-star hotel located in Zurich, for 440 million Swiss francs. In 2017, amid ongoing disputes related to his outstanding taxes and VAT fraud allegations, Swiss customs authorities confiscated approximately 30 paintings from the hotel, with an estimated value near $50 million.
Australia
Through his Romani Pastoral Company, Schwarzenbach holds around 50,000 hectares of agricultural land situated in New South Wales, Australia. His major holdings are located between Harden and Jugiong, including notable properties such as the polo estate Garangula and Redbank, a residence previously owned by entertainment mogul Robert Stigwood.
Morocco
Since at least 2008, Schwarzenbach has possessed a portion of Palais Layadi, a historic 19th-century palace in Marrakech, encompassing a compound of roughly 4,000 square meters. The principal areas of Palais Layadi (also known as Palais Soleiman), including its reception rooms, continue to be owned by Morocco’s Segueni family.
Charitable Activities
Schwarzenbach has contributed funding toward both interior and exterior renovations at the Venerable English College in Rome. His support has also facilitated the appointment of a research fellow and a project archivist at the institution.
Private Life
Schwarzenbach is married to Francesca Schwarzenbach (née Mulhall), a former Miss Australia hailing from Sydney and godmother to Lady Louise Windsor, daughter of Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh. The couple has two children:
- Guy Vivian Ernst Schwarzenbach (born March 1982)
- Sascha Schwarzenbach, who is married to Irish Olympian Clifton Wrottesley, 6th Baron Wrottesley; they live between St Moritz, Switzerland and London with their four children.
For many years, he resided at Culham Court near Henley-on-Thames and was a patron of the rowing gallery at the River and Rowing Museum in Henley named in his honor. Schwarzenbach owns several estates and farms across England, including a 10,000-acre sporting estate in Scotland and the largest rural estate on the Isle of Wight. In 2017, he made a permanent move to Küsnacht, Switzerland.