Boris Johnson with his sister Rachel Johnson and mother Charlotte Johnson Wahl in 2014. Getty Images
Boris Johnson with his sister Rachel Johnson and mother Charlotte Johnson Wahl in 2014. Getty Images
Boris Johnson with his sister Rachel Johnson and mother Charlotte Johnson Wahl in 2014. Getty Images
Boris Johnson with his sister Rachel Johnson and mother Charlotte Johnson Wahl in 2014. Getty Images

Boris Johnson's mother Charlotte Johnson Wahl dies at 79


Soraya Ebrahimi
  • English
  • Arabic

Charlotte Johnson Wahl, a professional painter and mother of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, has died at the age of 79, The Telegraph newspaper reported.

Ms Johnson Wahl died "suddenly and peacefully" at a London hospital on Monday, the newspaper said, quoting a statement from the family.

At the Conservative Party annual conference in 2019, Mr Johnson spoke of his mother.

"I am going to quote that supreme authority in my family, my mother – and by the way, for keen students of the divisions in my family on matters of the EU, I want you to know that I have kept the ace up my sleeve. My mother voted 'leave',” he said.

Ms Johnson Wahl had Parkinson’s disease diagnosed when she was 40, The Telegraph reported.

"I try to paint every day if I possibly can, though I have to go to the hospital a lot," she told the paper in 2008.

"I still manage to paint, though my arm will suddenly do a movement which is completely unintentional and that almost brings me to tears."

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New Zealand 57-0 South Africa

Tries: Rieko Ioane, Nehe Milner-Skudder (2), Scott Barrett, Brodie Retallick, Ofa Tu'ungfasi, Lima Sopoaga, Codie Taylor. Conversions: Beauden Barrett (7). Penalty: Beauden Barrett

MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League final:

Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports

A Prayer Before Dawn

Director: Jean-Stephane Sauvaire

Starring: Joe Cole, Somluck Kamsing, Panya Yimmumphai

Three stars

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

MATCH INFO

Austria 2
Hinteregger (53'), Schopf (69')

Germany 1
Ozil (11')

Updated: September 14, 2021, 8:03 AM