LONDON - Charles Cadogan, the billionaire aristocrat behind one of London’s biggest real estate fortunes, has died. He was 86.

He died on Sunday at home in Chelsea, according to a statement from his family’s namesake investment firm.

“He found enjoyment and amusement readily and was wonderful company, gregarious and voluble,” Cadogan Group said in the statement.

“He described himself as a ‘countryman’ and while his family business has been very successful under his stewardship, he felt most comfortable in the role of philanthropist.”

Cadogan, the eighth Earl Cadogan, was Britain’s 14-richest person prior to his death with a net worth of about $6 billion (S$8.1 billion), according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

His family has owned land in the central London areas of Kensington and Chelsea - home to some of the city’s most famous retail districts - since the 18th century and control the assets through a series of trusts.

Cadogan Group’s property portfolio was worth £5.1 billion (S$8.6 billion) at the end of 2022, rising 5.4 per cent from 12 months earlier as values rebounded from the pandemic.

While the closely held firm is still focused on London, Cadogan Group said last year it planned to increase deals outside the city to provide an alternative source of income to help fund the tax costs the family’s trusts face once every decade.

London-based Cadogan Group has paid more than £300 million over the past 10 years to help cover the tax bill, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. BLOOMBERG