Founder of TCI Fund Management — Britain's most successful hedge fund manager, an activist investor and a major philanthropist.
Life story
Christopher Hohn was born in 1966 in Addlestone, Surrey, England. His father was a Jamaican-born car mechanic and his mother a legal secretary — he did not come from wealth.
He graduated from the University of Southampton in 1988 with first-class honours in accounting and business economics. He then attended Harvard Business School, earning his MBA in 1993 as a Baker Scholar, a distinction for top students.
How they got started
Hohn started at private equity firm Apax Partners in 1994, joined Richard Perry's hedge fund Perry Capital in 1996, and by 1998 was running its London operation.
In 2003 he founded The Children's Investment Fund Management (TCI). The name reflected its structure: part of the fund's profits went to the Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), set up by Hohn and his then-wife Jamie Cooper. The fund and the foundation formally separated in 2012, ending the profit-sharing arrangement.
TCI quickly became one of Europe's most aggressive activists: in 2005 it forced Deutsche Börse to drop its bid for the London Stock Exchange, leading to the CEO's resignation, and in 2007 it pushed ABN AMRO to restructure — the bank was ultimately split up and sold. Today TCI is the UK's second-largest hedge fund (about $77 billion in assets in 2026).
Investment style
Hohn takes large, long-term stakes in a small number of high-quality companies and is willing to put heavy pressure on management. He is not afraid of public letters: in 2022–2023, for example, he wrote to Alphabet (Google) urging cuts to headcount and costs.
Climate activism is another strand: Hohn launched the "Say on Climate" initiative, which pushes companies to disclose emissions and put their climate plans to a shareholder vote.
Best decisions
Long-term record
TCI is estimated to have generated about $70 billion in net gains for investors since inception. In January 2022 The Guardian named it the world's top-performing hedge fund.
2019
After a nearly flat 2018 (about 0.9%), the fund returned about 41% in 2019.
ABN AMRO (2007)
TCI's campaign demanding a restructuring of the bank led to ABN AMRO being split up and sold — one of the largest bank deals in European history.
Biggest mistakes
The 2008 crisis
TCI suffered significant losses in the financial-crisis year, though it rebounded strongly in 2009.
J-Power (2007)
A campaign to make Japanese utility J-Power raise its dividend ended in failure.
Today
In 2026 Hohn is 59–60 and still runs TCI. He is among the UK's highest earners: from March 2019 to March 2020 he paid himself $479 million. He was knighted in 2014 for services to philanthropy. In 2025 his foundation announced it would stop funding U.S. organizations.
What to learn from following the portfolio
- TCI's portfolio is highly concentrated and positions are held for years — new positions appear rarely and are a serious signal.
- Hohn often pressures management publicly; his letters and activist demands can move the stock.
- 13F shows only long U.S.-listed positions: TCI's large European holdings are not visible here, so this is only part of the portfolio. Filings lag by up to 45 days.
- Halal lens: TCI often favors industrials, transport infrastructure and technology — some of which may pass halal screens; financial-services companies such as rating agencies and payment networks need separate scrutiny. Check each position's halal status on the Portfolio tab.
An introduction based on public sources — not investment advice. Spotted an error? Let us know.