Jim Mellon, born in February 1957 in Edinburgh, Scotland, is a British entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist with a diverse range of business interests. His father, Sir Jim Mellon, was a former diplomat who served as High Commissioner to Ghana, Ambassador to Denmark, and Consul General in New York. Jim Mellon is also distantly related to the Pittsburgh Jim banking dynasty.
Jim was educated at Ampleforth College and later attended Oriel College, Oxford, where he studied Politics, Philosophy, and Economics, earning a master's degree. His early career began in 1979 when he worked as a trainee fund manager at Griffin Thornton (GT Management), spending six months in Hong Kong before moving to San Francisco.
In 1984, he co-founded Thornton Management with Richard Thornton, returning to Hong Kong to oversee the company’s operations. Thornton was sold for £25 million, making Jim a millionaire at the age of 28. He later spent two years setting up a Hong Kong operation for Tyndall Holdings.
In 1992, Jim, along with Jayne Sutcliffe, founded Regent Pacific, an emerging markets investment vehicle, with Sir John Templeton as their first customer. A year later, Mellon’s pivotal investment in the Russian privatisation process led to substantial gains, as he and Sutcliffe purchased vouchers for about $25 each that could later be exchanged for stock in Russian industries.
These shares later appreciated to $17 million. Regent Pacific’s spin-off, Charlemagne Capital, focused on Eastern Europe and was listed on the stock market in 2006, where Jim made £55 million from his stake.
In 2005, Jim co-founded the uranium mining company Uramin with Stephen Dattels, starting with just $100,000. Uramin was sold to Areva in 2007 for around £1.6 billion, reportedly making Jim about £80 million. However, Areva later had to accept a substantial write-down in Uramin’s value.
Jim’s more recent ventures focus on biotechnology and longevity research. He is the Chairman and co-founder of Juvenescence, a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing therapies to slow, stop, and reverse the effects of ageing. This business venture was born from his book Juvenescence: Investing in the Age of Longevity, which helped mark the beginning of significant capital investment in the emerging field of ageing research. He is also a co-founder of Agronomics, a company dedicated to investing in cellular agriculture, which aims to produce proteins and materials directly from cells.
Throughout his career, Jim has authored several books, including Wake Up! (2005), Cracking the Code (2012), Fast Forward (2015), Moo’s Law (2020), and Juvenescence. His work has highlighted emerging trends in various sectors, including biotechnology, clean food, and finance.
Jim’s philanthropic activities are also notable. He sits on the Board of Trustees of the Buck Institute for Research on Aging and the American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR). He is a trustee of the Biogerontology Research Foundation and Lifeboat Foundation, and he serves as an Honorary Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford, where he established the Jim Centre for Longevity.
He is also a member of the Advisory Board of the Milken Institute’s Centre for the Future of Aging. In recognition of his support for ageing research, he was honoured with the George E. and Marie J. Doty Award by AFAR.
Jim has been involved in various political and economic discussions. He was a key financial backer of the Brexit campaign and played a significant role in introducing Arron Banks to Nigel Farage. Jim donated up to £100,000 to the campaign to leave the European Union.
In addition, he has made various political statements, predicting the end of the euro and commenting on the economic challenges facing Europe. He has also been connected to Russia through business dealings, with Charlemagne Capital purchasing discounted stock in the Russian diamond-mining group Alrosa shortly after the Brexit vote.
In his personal life, Jim resides on the Isle of Man, where he was the largest landowner in 2000. He has also had homes in Ibiza, Berlin, San Francisco, and Brussels. His business interests continue to expand through Burnbrae Group, which oversees a wide range of investments in banking, mining, property, and other sectors.
