Maxwell Joseph

Auction catalogue for the sale of Joseph's collection of Cape of Good Hope stamps, Sotheby's, 1982.

Sir Maxwell Joseph FRPSL (formerly Max Joseph) (31 May 1910, London – 22 September 1982, Kensington) was the founder of Grand Metropolitan plc, a large British hotel group.

Career

Educated at Pitman's Business School,[1] Joseph left school in 1926 to work in an estate agent's office.[2] He lost his job and founded his own estate agent's business in 1930[3] before serving as a lance corporal in the Royal Engineers during the Second World War.[1]

He bought the Mandeville Hotel in London shortly after the War and, after buying up other hotels, built Grand Hotels (Mayfair) Ltd and then Grand Metropolitan plc into a large international conglomerate before being knighted in 1981.[3] In July 1982 he announced his intention to retire from the chairmanship the following March[4] but died before his scheduled retirement date.[1]

He lived at Melksham Court in the Cotswolds.[5]

References

1. Joseph, Sir Maxwell Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 2013. Retrieved 25 November 2013.
2. "Sir Maxwell Joseph". Toledo Blade. 24 September 1982. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
3. "Sir Maxwell Joseph". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. 23 September 1982. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
4. "Business people: Grand met's chairman to shift to quieter post". New York Times. 23 July 1982. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
5. "Home of Hugh Grant". Cotswold celebrities. Retrieved 1 January 2018.