American wife of Tetra Pak heir found dead in London - Reuters UK
LONDON |
LONDON (Reuters) - London murder detectives are investigating the death of the American wife of an heir to the Tetra Pak drinks carton fortune and have arrested a man reported to be her husband.
Eva Rausing, 48, daughter of U.S. businessman Tom Kemeny, led a gilded life marred by drug addiction and had a host of connections with royal patrons of anti-drug charities to which she and her husband, Hans Kristian Rausing, 49, devoted millions from the fortune his Swedish grandfather made from packaging.
Police said on Tuesday they were holding a 49-year-old man in connection with the death of Eva Rausing, who was found dead on Monday in her home in the capital's wealthy Belgravia district. He was also being investigated for drug possession. But they declined to confirm British media reports that he was Hans Kristian Rausing.
Statements from both spouses' parents made no mention of him in expressing sadness, shock and admiration for the mother of his four children, and for her charity work to curb drub abuse.
The couple, who were reported to have met while undergoing rehab in the United States, hit headlines in 2008 when Eva Rausing was found carrying heroin and the "ghetto drug" crack cocaine into the U.S. embassy in London. Charges against her and her husband were later dropped.
Her father-in-law, Hans Rausing, 86, is one of the world's wealthiest men, ranked 88th in the Forbes rich list with a fortune estimated at $10 billion. Based in Britain since quitting high-tax Sweden 30 years ago, he sold his interest in the private Tetra Pak business to his brother in the 1990s.
Police declined to comment on newspaper reports that the mystery of Eva Rausing's death began with her husband's arrest after driving erratically in London on Monday.
When police went to the couple's white-stuccoed townhouse in Cadogan Place they found his wife dead in an upstairs bedroom, several newspapers said, adding that a post mortem on Monday had been inconclusive but that a drug overdose was suspected.
'WRONG TURN'
Eva Rausing's parents, Tom and Nancy Kemeny of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, said in a statement that they were "deeply saddened by the death of their beloved daughter".
"Eva was a devoted wife for 20 years and mother of four much loved and wonderful children," they said.
"During her short lifetime she made a huge philanthropic impact, supporting a large number of charitable causes, not only financially, but using her own personal experiences. She bravely fought her health issues for many years."
In 2008, after the embassy drugs incident, their daughter told reporters: "I have made a grave error and consider myself to have taken a wrong turn in the course of my life."
She was a patron of the British branch of the Mentor Foundation, a worldwide drug abuse prevention group whose president is Queen Silvia of Sweden, and was also a trustee of a community development charity founded by Britain's Prince Charles, The Prince's Foundation for Building Community.
At another organisation which benefited from the Rausings' generosity, Nick Barton, chief executive of Action on Addiction, said: "Everyone involved with Action on Addiction is devastated to hear the news of Eva Rausing's untimely death.
"Without any desire for public recognition, Eva has, through her wonderfully generous support of this and other charities helped so many people for over 20 years."
Her husband, often referred to as simply Hans K, was born into billions in 1963, as his father, uncle and grandfather were turning their local packaging firm into a global empire with their innovative cardboard bricks. Media reports describe him as having lapsed into drug abuse while travelling in India in his 20s, a young man with vast means and little sense of purpose.
His father Hans Rausing, whose own father founded Tetra Laval in Lund, Sweden, in 1944, also has two daughters with his wife Marit. Praised by, among others, Prince Charles for his philanthropy, Hans Rausing has an honorary British knighthood.
"Hans and Marit Rausing and their family are deeply shocked and saddened to hear of the tragic death of their daughter-in-law Eva Louise Rausing," the family said in a statement. "They ask that their privacy be respected at this sad time."
Police said the man they had detained was receiving medical attention. Officers had sealed off the couple's house in an area, near Sloane Square, which is home to some of Britain's - and increasingly the world's - wealthiest people seeking the lifestyle, relatively low taxes, security and anonymity that London offers.
(Additional reporting by Alastair Macdonald in London and Niklas Pollard in Stockholm; writing by Alastair Macdonald; editing by Mohammad Zargham)
London 2012 Olympics: 16 days to go - live blog - The Guardian
Hello and welcome to today’s Olympics live blog. Coming up today:
• The Olympic torch will travel from Reading to Salisbury, via Basingstoke and Winchester. Send me your photos to paul.owen@guardian.co.uk or tweet me @paultowen.
Here is today’s news so far:
• The government and Olympic organisers are drawing up contingency plans to deal with the inclement British summer, following a series of meetings to predict the extent to which London 2012 could be adversely affected by the dismal weather, reports Owen Gibson.
• The British Olympic Association is facing a last-minute scramble to close a £2m funding gap just weeks ahead of the London Games, following slower than projected sales of its Team GB "supporters' scarves" and collectable medals, and has approached government to help broker a solution, reports Owen Gibson.
• Adam Gemili, the London teenager selected for the Olympics, provided another indication of his potential with a dominant heat-winning performance in the World Junior Championships 100m in Barcelona last night. The 18-year-old was able to qualify with something to spare, his 10.37sec the equal fastest time along with that of Tyreek Hill of the United States.
• World Taekwondo Federation secretary general Jean-Marie Ayer hopes the sport can move on towards an "unforgettable" Olympic Games after backing British Taekwondo's selection policy for Team GB. Despite successfully retaining his European title earlier this summer and being ranked number one in the world for the under-80kg division, Aaron Cook was overlooked in favour of Lutalo Muhammad. The WTF yesterday found that British Taekwondo correctly followed its selection procedure in choosing Muhammad.
• “I’ve done all the hard work and I know that in London I’ll have no regrets,” double gold-medal-winning British swimmer Rebecca Adlington tells Sachin Nakrani.
• In the fifth part of our series on Britain’s medal factories, Anna Kessel focuses on athletics.
• London 2012 is turning into a sponsored security show, but the Games could be opened up to turn the ideal into reality, argues Seumas Milne.
• Stonehenge was lit up early this morning with fire sculptures and candle-lit paths to mark the Olympics.
• The Australian Olympic Committee has finalised its 410-member team for the London Games, its smallest contingent in 20 years. Australia finished sixth in the overall medal tally at the previous games in Beijing.
• A Malaysian mining magnate has offered the country's Olympic badminton team a gold bar worth 2m ringgit (£405,000) if they can bring home a first gold medal from the London Games.
All this and more here throughout the day.
London Wasps sign winger James Bailey from Lyon - BBC News
London Wasps have signed winger James Bailey from French club Lyon, their second new recruit in 24 hours.
The 28-year-old former England Under-21 international previously played for London Irish, Gloucester and Bristol.
"I thoroughly enjoyed my time in France but I always knew that I wanted to return to the English game at some point," he said.
On Tuesday, Wasps announced the signing of Italy international Andrea Masi, 31, from Aironi.
And director of rugby Dai Young believes Bailey is another important piece in the jigsaw as he looks to build a successful side for next season.
"We've got a lot of talent in our back-three but we have been looking to add depth to our squad out wide for some time and James arrives with solid experience at this level," he said.
Bailey is the second former Lyon player to join the club this summer following the arrival of Welsh centre Lee Thomas.
London: A tale of two cities - The Independent Blogs
Two particular highlights stuck out. One was the wonderfully spiky debate between Neil O’Brien of Policy Exchange and the Guardian’s Aditya Chakrabortty about London’s difference from the rest of the UK and the pros and cons of its growth as a stamping ground for footloose tycoons of all flavours. The now-familiar tussle over whether the financial services sector is an undeniable boon by benefit of the consequent tax revenues versus its deleterious effect on things like house prices, swelling them beyond the reach of ordinary families, proved engaging.
Then all eyes settled on the newly-unveiled Shard, eloquent of so much: fancy restaurants, lavish five-star hotel, gold-plated apartments, foreign wealth parked temporarily as a ‘speculative asset’. Chakrabortty made the pertinent point that the only way ordinary Londoners will be able to get inside is by emptying their wallets to the tune of £24.95 for the viewing gallery. Approached from either angle, both agreed London is now very much ‘a tale of two cities’.
The Dickensian phrasing segued neatly into a discussion about culture and London. Much amazement was professed by Matthew Sweet that Robert Bound, culture editor of Monocle, thought it fit to overlook the city when compiling a list of the top twenty-five cities in the world. Bound defended the magazine’s decision claiming that, by virtue of London’s oft-touted position as a cultural capital, it has become rather ‘self-satisfied’ and ‘village-fêtey’. Other guests – Jude Kelly, artistic director of the Southbank Centre, and novelist Lesley Lokko – shared some of his doubts, but were on the whole more optimistic. They stressed that London was still a vibrant nesting place for innovative artists. With the Cultural Olympiad upon us, it will be intriguing to see which prediction proves truer.
Intriguingly, one of the main points mentioned in the O’Brien-Chakrabortty fisticuffs above was the notion of ‘decentralization’, moving jobs and opportunities – such as the BBC’s Media City in Salford – away from the capital and into other cities. Such a theory is wonderfully demonstrated by the second series of Jay Rayner’s The Kitchen Cabinet (Radio 4) as it roves around the country. This week’s episode saw the foodie show pitch its tent in Brighton where the panel discussed everything from beach picnics to pork scratchings and the history of making ice cream. All oodles of fun with Rayner affable and charming as ever in the presenter’s chair. And without so much as a bat squeak about the Olympics, the Shard, a third runway at Heathrow or the militarization of tower blocks. Who knows, maybe getting away from the great metropolis has its advantages after all.
Tagged in: Aditya Chakrabortty, Cultural Olympiad, Jay Rayner’s The Kitchen Cabinet, london, London 2012, Neil O’Brien, olympics, Shard, Southbank Centre, The Economist
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