Michael Heller

Sir Michael Aron Heller (born July 1936) is a British business executive and philanthropist.

Early life

Michael Aron Heller was born in July 1936, and educated at the Harrogate Grammar School in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. He graduated from St Catharine's College, a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, where he received a Master of Arts degree in 1955.

He is married to Morven Livingstone, Lady Heller (b.1940). Her father, Julius Livingstone (b. Glasgow, 1908) was a family doctor. Her mother Pearl (née Levy, b. Manchester, 1918) studied law but never practiced it. Morven was raised with her younger sister, the human rights lawyer Frances Raday, in Manchester.

Business career

Heller serves as the Chairman of Bisichi Mining. He also serves as the Chairman of London & Associated Properties. Additionally, he serves as the Chairman of Electronic Data Processing.

Philanthropy

Heller co-founded the Michael & Morven Heller Charitable Foundation in 1988. Thanks to a charitable gift they made to the Magen David Adom UK Friend Society in 2006, a Mobile Intensive Care Unit which drives pregnant women in Israel to the nearest hospital was named in their honour. Eight years later, in 2008, as a result of another donation, an ambulance was also named in their honour. In 2010, they attended a fundraising dinner for the British ORT, a Jewish charity. Meanwhile, they have made charitable contributions to the Hampstead Theatre and the London Jewish Cultural Centre. They also donated to the Save Van Dyck for the National Portrait Gallery to acquired Anthony van Dyck's self-portrait.

Heller served as the Deputy Chairman of the Conservative Friends of Israel. By 2012, he had donated over GBP£100,000 to the Conservative Party. In 2014, he attended a GBP£50,000 dinner with Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron. He also served as the Deputy Chairman of the Centre for Policy Studies, a center-right think tank based in London. He now serves as a member of its Board.

Heller was named Fellow Commoner by his alma mater, St Catharine's College, in 2003. He received an honorary degree from Sheffield Hallam University in 2010. He was knighted in the 2013 New Year Honours "for charitable services".

Personal life

With his wife Morven, he resides in Hampstead in North London. He is a member of the Royal Automobile Club, a private members' club. He collects modern art.