Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Robert Maxwell, 20 years on: Where are they now?

Since the old rogue died leaving nothing but debts, his family have gone in some unusual directions.

Kunal Dutta
Saturday 05 November 2011 21:00 EDT
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.

The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.

Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.

It could almost be 2011. A rumbustious media baron brought down by his own business practices, City institutions mired in scandal, and a fallout that was felt for months across every front page in Britain.

Yet it is 20 years this month since the death of Robert Maxwell. It very soon emerged that the debts of his Mirror Group vastly outweighed its assets and that £440m was missing from the company's pension funds. There was an eight-month trial and a three-year campaign mounted by the 30,000 Mirror Group pensioners, which led to a £100m government payout and a £276m out-of-court settlement with City institutions. But the scandal was about so much more than just money. Maxwell's death left behind a trail of chaos, misled advisers, stunned family members, quickly distanced acquaintances and perplexed staff. Here The IoS looks back at how the media baron's empire unravelled and what happened to a whole cast of characters who emerged from that chaos.

Elisabeth Maxwell

Wife

For nearly 50 years, "Betty" was credited for maintaining order amid her husband's capricious chaos. In her autobiography, A Mind of My Own, she wrote: "Everything was sacrificed on the altar of Bob's genius, and in the end the children and I were to pay a heavy price." She is now a respected Holocaust historian who turned 90 this year.

Kevin Maxwell

Son

Assuming control of his father's empire, Kevin became Britain's biggest bankrupt, to the tune of more than £400m, in the pension fund scandal that engulfed his family. A career as a property magnate was marred this year after Vincent and Robert Tchenguiz, two tycoons he shared an office with, were arrested by the Serious Fraud Office. In July he was disqualified from being a director for eight years.

Ian Maxwell

Son

Assumed control with brother Kevin of the Maxwell business after their father's death. Once a regular on London's social circuit, he has become something of a recluse. He is reportedly living in Hackney, east London.

Anne Maxwell

Daughter

Maxwell's eldest daughter had a strained relationship with her father. After Oxford, she became a Montessori teacher and is now a hypnotherapist married to an osteopath. The couple, who live in Surrey, have a teenage daughter.

Christine Maxwell

Twin daughter

The twins made The Sunday Times rich list in 1999 after amassing £100m in the dotcom boom. Christine now lives in Provence. A former teacher, she has written a book called The Dictionary of Perfect Spelling and is married to an astrophysicist. They have two sons and a daughter.

Isabel Maxwell

Twin daughter

Now lives in New York presiding over Maxwell Communications. "This is a most emotional time," she recently tweeted about the anniversary. Has a 25-year-old son by an ex-husband.

Ghislaine Maxwell

Daughter

Maxwell's youngest daughter moved to the US in 1991, and became a fixture on the Manhattan party circuit. She befriended Jeffrey Epstein, jailed financier and controversial one-time friend of Prince Andrew.

Pandora Maxwell

Daughter-in-law, wife of Kevin

She and Kevin had seven children and were together for 23 years until they separated in 2007. Lives in Oxford.

Philip Maxwell

Son

After winning a scholarship to Balliol College at 16, Philip moved to Argentina. Twice married, he is now living in north London and pursuing a career as a writer.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in