Background and career
Peter Andrew Cruddas, Baron Cruddas (born 30 September 1953) is an English banker and businessman. He is the founder of online trading company CMC Markets. In the 2007 Sunday Times Rich List, he was named the richest man in the City of London, with an estimated fortune of £860 million. In the 2026 Sunday Times Rich List, his fortune was estimated at £1.156 billion. Cruddas was appointed Conservative Party co-treasurer in June 2011. In March 2012 it was alleged by The Sunday Times that he had offered access to the Prime Minister David Cameron and the Chancellor George Osborne, in exchange for cash donations of between £100,000 and £250,000. Cruddas resigned the same day. In June 2013, Cruddas successfully sued The Sunday Times for libel over its coverage of him, which the High Court found had been defamatory. However, in March 2015, the Court of Appeal reduced the libel damages from the original £180,000 to £50,000, ruling that the Sunday Times's central allegation around "cash for access" had been borne out by the facts, while also ruling that a series of subsidiary allegations made in the same Sunday Times article were still false and defamatory. In December 2020, it was announced he would be conferred a life peerage after a nomination by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, despite the contrary advice of the House of Lords Appointments Commission, which unanimously recommended that the Prime Minister rescind his nomination.
The son of a father who worked as a porter at Smithfield Market, Cruddas has a twin brother Stephen and an elder brother John, both of whom later became taxi drivers. Born in the Metropolitan Borough of Hackney, the boys initially lived on the Bracklyn Court Estate, before moving to Vince Court when the twins were six. Cruddas points to his time in the Boy Scouts as pivotal, stating the organisation fostered the self-discipline and confidence he would later exploit in his career:
"The Boy Scouts enabled me to escape a violent home situation and the inner city. I sincerely believe that I would not be where I am today had I not become a member." He attributes the family turmoil to his father's alcoholism, while recalling that his mother worked as a cleaner and single-handedly raised the children through hardship. She remained in London even during World War II to care for her own mother. Throughout interviews and in his autobiography, Cruddas refers to his mother as the primary driver of his success. He says he started his business only to impress her, and "then never stopped".
In his own words, Cruddas began working at the age of 14 as a weekend milkman for Express Dairies. As the family needed money, he left Shoreditch Comprehensive aged 15 with no qualifications and gained a job as a telex operator for Western Union in the City of London, earning about £7 a week. After being made redundant, he worked in the foreign currency trading rooms of various banks, including the Bank of Iran and Marine Midland. In 1982-89, he was chief dealer at SCF Equity Services. By 1989, Cruddas had become the head foreign exchange dealer at the London branch of the Jordanian-based Petra Bank. He left the same year to set up his own business, starting CMC Markets with £10,000. His good fortune came during the 1991 Gulf War, when Arab banks asked him to act as an intermediary to obtain foreign exchange from Western institutions. In 1996, he became one of the first to offer online trading. Cruddas served as CEO until October 2007 and again between July 2009 and June 2010. Between 2003 and March 2013, he also served as the group's executive chairman. In March 2013, after CMC Markets reported a 21% revenue decline and a £19.4 million pre-tax loss, Cruddas replaced CEO Doug Richards and returned as chief executive, later reducing the company's workforce by one-third. In 2016, CMC Markets floated on the London Stock Exchange, with reports ahead of the listing stating that Cruddas would sell a portion of his shares while retaining a majority stake. The IPO priced in February 2016, valuing the company at about £691 million. At the end of January 2026, his stake in CMC Markets was 59.02%.
By August 2026, Cruddas had donated £4.5 million to the Conservative Party since 2009. On 31 July 2013 on the BBC's Newsnight programme he stated he had given more than £1 million. He donated £100,000 in the last quarter of 2010 and £50,000 in the first week of the 2010 general election campaign. According to The Sunday Times, on 5 February 2021—just one week after receiving his peerage—Cruddas's total donations surpassed £3 million. The Times noted that most party treasurers drastically reduce their contributions after being elevated to the Lords. Only one continued to donate as before, insisting that he did not want his generosity to appear like a brazen purchase of a title. In March 2025, The Guardian included Cruddas among peers who had donated more than £1 million before entering the House of Lords, and reported that donations from large pre-appointment donors tended to decline after they secured their seats when averaged over time.
Cruddas was appointed Conservative Party co-treasurer in June 2011 alongside Lord Fink, effectively the party's chief fund raiser, in succession to billionaire property tycoon David Rowland. In 2012, he became embroiled in the "UK cash-for-access" scandal which ultimately forced his resignation as co-treasurer. The Sunday Times reported that Cruddas, in exchange for sizeable donations, offered exclusive dinners with prime minister David Cameron and the chancellor George Osborne. The reporters Jonathan Calvert and Heidi Blake had secretly filmed Cruddas stating that for a donation of £250,000 he would arrange "premier league" access to the government leaders, such as an invitation to dinners at Cameron's apartment in Downing Street, where the donor would "pick up a lot of information", pose "practically any question" or advance their interests if "unhappy about something". The undercover journalists were introduced to Cruddas by Sarah Southern, a lobbyist who is David Cameron's former aide, and secured themselves a two-hour private meeting. The reporters posed as overseas financiers and claimed that their clients intended to buy distressed government assets and wanted to make political connections. Cruddas publicly apologised, stating that his claims were mere "bluster" and he lacked the authority to sway policy or guarantee outcomes for financial backers. In July 2012, it became known that Cruddas was suing The Sunday Times for libel over its coverage of him. Initially, he appeared triumphant, securing £180,000 in damages on 31 July. However, in March 2015, all three judges of an appeal court ruled that the central allegation of the Sunday Times's story – that Cruddas had corruptly offered to potential donors access to leading members of the government – was supported by the evidence. While other related claims in the article remained unsubstantiated and defamatory, the judges cut the libel award from £180,000 to £50,000.
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
