By Paula Sambo and Katherine Griffiths
(Bloomberg) — Canadian mortgage billionaire Stephen Smith has agreed to buy a minority stake in The Economist Group, marking the first ownership shake-up in the storied British current affairs magazine in a decade.
Smith and his family holding company, Smith Financial Corp., will buy the entire 26.9% stake held by Lynn Forester de Rothschild, her family and her family foundation, representatives for the companies said in emailed statements.
The price of the transaction wasn’t disclosed, and the agreement is subject to certain closing conditions. The Horizont website reported earlier that Smith was looking to buy the stake.
The deal sees another wealthy mogul added to The Economist’s list of owners, which includes Italy’s Agnelli industrial dynasty and members of the Cadbury and Schroder families. The magazine was founded in 1843 by Scottish businessman and politician James Wilson, an opponent of Britain’s Corn Laws that restricted the import of grain to benefit local landowning elites. The magazine — which describes itself as a newspaper — has successfully transformed into a digital subscription publication and is popular with business and political elites for its long-form analysis and knowing style.
The stake is Smith’s first foray into media after he made the bulk of his estimated $3.6 billion fortune by investing in Canada’s mortgage market, co-founding mortgage lender First National Financial Corp. and acquiring other lenders in defiance of an anticipated housing crash.
Forester de Rothschild has been seeking to sell her stake as part of a long-term reshaping of her investment portfolio, Bloomberg previously reported.
The Economist Group includes The Economist magazine, website, app and podcasts as well as the Economist Intelligence Unit, which provides research on macro economic and geopolitical topics and event organizer Economist Impact.
It employs about 1,540 staff in 26 countries, reported revenue of £369 million (CA$673 million) and operating profit of about £48 million in the year to March 31, according to its 2025 annual report. Subscriptions rose 3% year-on-year to 1.25 million, boosted by digital subscriptions, which accounted for 85% of new starts.
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Last modified: March 17, 2026