Gerko’s ethical endeavours
Gerko owns 75 per cent of the company and has used his wealth to pursue a series of philanthropic endeavours.
This includes a string of maths schools after he became dismayed at the state of British education in the subject, as well as conservation efforts and the London Symphony Orchestra.
Gerko’s small trading firm’s computer science expertise and sophisticated algorithms gave it a modest but lucrative edge when trading billions of dollars every hour.Credit: Bloomberg
He owns a 150-acre estate in the Chiltern Hills, previously owned by the philanthropist Lady Helen Hamlyn, which has been dubbed the Teletubby House for its sunken appearance in the surrounding hillside.
He has also invested in leading artificial intelligence companies, including the Silicon Valley firm Anthropic and British driverless car start-up Wayve.
‘I am very happy to pay a ton of taxes.’
Alex Gerko
Gerko is known for putting forthright opinions on social media.
He deleted his X account last year, but frequently posts on LinkedIn, criticising Britain’s online safety laws and the BBC’s coverage of the war in Gaza.
“The UK will soon have about as much freedom of speech as Russia if we don’t stop this”, he wrote last month.
Gerko has also supported a wealth tax, claiming: “I am very happy to pay a ton of taxes.”
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Last year, he lost a legal case alongside employees at his former hedge fund, GSA Capital, over how payments to partners were taxed between 2010 and 2015.
HMRC had said the payouts should be taxed at income tax rates rather than corporation tax levels. Gerko said this amounted to “massive double taxation”.
He said: “The amounts involved are small compared to the billions of pounds in tax I have paid, and been happy to pay, over the years.”
The case is now being taken to the Supreme Court.
Telegraph, London
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