Gary Lubner: Humanitarian Charities and the Labour Party
Although Gary Lubner has been a philanthropist for many years, he has recently become a major financial backer of the Labour Party. His involvement began in 2021 when he met the then-shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves at a business dinner and went on to visit her a few weeks later.
Struck by the party's lack of infrastructure – and Reeves needing to book her own train tickets – Lubner donated £42,000 for her to hire a personal assistant. This initial donation soon grew into an ongoing commitment to the party. He has since donated over £5 million to help level the playing field between Labour and the better-funded Conservative and Reform Parties.
Lubner doesn't ask for anything in return. He has told The Times that he simply aims to 'change the lives of millions of people,' made possible by working with the government. Moving forward, he plans to support Labour through future elections and help the party win these.
Insiders consider him an anomaly in the political sphere – uninterested in recognition, policy influence, or peerage. 'The thing about Gary,' one of Keir Starmer's allies told The Times , 'is that he's the closest thing there is to a straightforwardly good person in politics.'
Gary Lubner's commitment to supporting social and political organisations roots back to his upbringing in apartheid-era South Africa. As a child living in a white, wealthy, Jewish family, he was disconnected from the country's institutionalised racism.
Lubner recalls seeing a photograph of a 1970s West Ham team in the magazine Shoot! This photo featured Bermudian striker Clyde Best, one of only two Black players on the squad. It was in this revelatory moment that Lubner decided to support West Ham.
At the time, he had limited access to football and could only follow it through the BBC World Service and old copies of this magazine. 'It was all about this guy,' he told The Times . '[My brother and I] never knew that different races could play together.'
When Lubner finished school, he worked for the police in Johannesburg and witnessed apartheid from the inside. Disturbed by what he saw, he resisted by warning individuals of incoming raids and falsifying paperwork to avoid imposing punishments on Black South Africans.
Lubner told The Times : 'I made a very clear choice early on in the police force that I was going to do everything that I could to effectively go against the apartheid system.'
Years later, working at Belron in the UK, Lubner reluctantly turned down a deal to sponsor West Ham in favour of sponsoring Chelsea. Nonetheless, he still has a 1970s West Ham poster in his office.
During Gary Lubner's childhood, his family, who had once donated to the ruling National Party, became close with Nelson Mandela and supported the abolition of apartheid. Like other family members, Lubner also went on to work with Mandela, serving on the board of the Nelson Mandela Legacy Trust in the 1990s. He is still a trustee today.
'I spent quite a lot of time with [Mandela],' Lubner told The Times . 'He used to come over. I used to take my kids to meet him … He had been without kids for 27 years, so he just loved being with kids.'
Critics have tried to reposition Lubner's family history to undermine him. One left-wing website became liable for libel damages, which Lubner donated to the Community Security Trust for British Jews and the World Central Kitchen.
Gary Lubner's philanthropic efforts have been long-standing. Even during his education and corporate career, he sought ways to support others, founding Jews for Social Justice while studying accountancy at the University of Cape Town.
Years later, he also persuaded senior executives at Belron to join him in forgoing some of their shares. This meant that every employee could receive a €10,000 gift when he stepped down as CEO.
Today, he funds initiatives fostering social cohesion in small towns across the UK and early childhood and youth unemployment charities in South Africa. According to Jewish News, approximately 70% of the funds from his charitable foundation support the latter. Beyond the This Day Foundation, Lubner's other philanthropic organisations include The Belron Ronnie Lubner Charitable Foundation and Football Academy Noah. Meanwhile, his educational initiatives include The Gary Lubner Scholarship, Afrika Tikkun, and One to One Children's Fund.
Lubner is now also Labour's biggest donor. He continues to finance the party with a wider view to support society. In Lubner's own words, giving back isn't about recognition or legacy. It's about allocating resources where they can make a real difference and addressing inequities that leave others behind.
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