Ian Roper Taylor (born 7 February 1956) is Chairman and Global CEO of The Vitol Group, the world’s largest independent energy trader. He is also the majority shareholder in Harris Tweed Hebrides, the primary producer of the historic Harris Tweed cloth, which he helped to rescue in 2005. A significant philanthropist, mainly through his Taylor Family Foundation, he is a passionate supporter of the performing arts as a force for social good. He is Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Royal Opera House, whose Schools Matinées programme, providing heavily subsidised tickets for children from poor backgrounds, he was responsible for creating and continues to fund. He is also an active supporter of the Rambert Dance Company, the Victoria & Albert Museum, the Royal Academy and the Vitruvian Group, of which he is a founder member. A long-term supporter of the Conservative Party, Taylor made significant donations to the Better Together campaign (for the 2014 referendum on Scottish independence) and to the Remain campaign (for the 2016 referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU). In 2016 he was reported to have asked for his name to be withdrawn from consideration for a potential knighthood in David Cameron’s resignation honours list; this was apparently in response to hostile media coverage. A regular participant in the Speakers for Schools initiative, Taylor is also a founding shareholder of the British Americas Cup bid. The Sunday Times Rich List 2017 estimated Taylor’s wealth at £180m, making him the UK’s 623rd richest person.

Focus on oil and gas, petroleum