Michael Ashcroft, English businessman and politician
Michael Anthony Ashcroft, Baron Ashcroft, (born 4 March 1946) is a British-Belizean businessman, pollster and politician. He is a former deputy chairman of the Conservative Party. Ashcroft founded Michael A. Ashcroft Associates in 1972 and is the 132nd richest person in the UK, as ranked by the Sunday Times Rich List 2021, with an estimated fortune of £1.257 billion.He sat on the Conservative benches of the House of Lords until 2015, having been created a life peer in 2000. His peerage was controversial due to his status as a tax exile. The Cabinet Office stated that he would take up permanent residence in the UK for tax purposes, but it was reported a decade later that he had not done so.Ashcroft holds dual British and Belizean nationality, and is a belonger of the Turks and Caicos Islands.