Billionaire Tetra Pak heir Hans Rausing suffers new tragedy as second wife dies of cancer

A new tragedy has hit the Tetra Pak heir Hans Rausing, with the death of his second wife, Julia at the age of 63, after a long battle with cancer. She died peacefully on Thursday morning surrounded by her family.

Tens of millions of pounds have been donated in the couple’s names to the National Gallery and other arts organisations, as well as generous contributions to help tackle Covid.

Paying tribute Mr Rausing said: “We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of my beloved wife Julia after an extended illness.

“Julia dedicated her life to her family and charitable causes, and she will be missed by all who knew her. She leaves behind an extraordinary legacy across many charities which we will continue in her name.”

The Julia and Hans Rausing Trust, which they co-founded, has given away more than £330m in total, including £50m to UK charities annually and more than 1,000 grants.

A family statement released through the trust, read: “Julia Rausing was a much-loved wife, stepmother, sister and daughter. She passed away peacefully on the morning of 18 April 2024. She was 63 years old.

“Julia was widely known for her unwavering commitment to philanthropy and her impactful contributions to various charitable causes”.

They praised her “speedy response” to the pandemic, which saw her help provide over £35 million for charities to survive this turbulent time.

It added: “She took a keen interest in all the Trust’s giving, no matter how large or small the grant.”

Mr Rausing’s first wife, Eva, died in tragic circumstances in 2012 after a drug overdose. Her death sparked huge publicity when it emerged that she had lain dead in the couple’s bedroom for months.

As her widower, he remained resolutely private amid the wide publicity and friends credited Julia with bringing him happiness after Eva’s death, encouraging the extraordinary generosity of their charitable trust.

Friends of Julia Rausing, who married her husband in 2014, said she bore the illness with great courage while at the same time forging one of the world’s leading philanthropic forces with her husband.

One friend told The Independent: “They were palpably in love and affectionate towards each other and were a very touching couple who focused most of their time on how to give away money to those in need.

“They were also discreetly social while she also for many years had to battle cancer. Without a doubt, she was responsible for bringing Hans back from appalling grief and helping him find joy in life again.”

The second Mrs Rausing, who kept her maiden name Delves Broughton on LinkedIn and Instagram, was an art expert at Christie’s auctioneers, where she worked before she met Mr Rausing.

After the death of his first wife, Julia was seen as a chance for him to start afresh. In one of his wife’s last Instagram posts, in January, she featured a photograph of the picturesque Burano district in Venice, Italy.

Her sister was Isabella Blow, the Tatler fashion editor who had discovered Alexander McQueen and model Sophie Dahl, as well as becoming one of the most distinctive fashion influencers of her generation. After many years of battling depression, Ms Blow took her own life in 2007.

The family were brought up at Doddington Hall, the family’s 35,000-acre estate in Cheshire.

Her grandfather, Sir Jock Delves Broughton, was sensationally acquitted of the murder of Lord Erroll in the “White Mischief” case, which rocked Kenyan society in the 40s.

Lord Erroll was found dead in his car in January 1941, after embarking on an affair with Sir Jock’s wife, Diana. Despite being the prime suspect, Sir Jock was cleared but died by suicide soon after he returned to Britain.

Mr Rausing’s charitable website features photographs of the billionaire philanthropists and their two dogs, with links to the Julia and Hans Rausing Trust website.

His father, Hans Rausing senior, who died in 2019, is credited with making Tetra Pak a success in the Seventies and Eighties, turning a six-person family business into a global company with net sales of $12.5bn in 2022.