The ex-Tory party co-treasurer and hedge fund manager is a self-made man, hailing from Hackney
With an estimated £750m fortune, according to the Sunday Times rich list, Peter Cruddas is one of the wealthier members of the Conservative party and had been its co-treasurer since June of last year.
His biography, on the website of his Peter Cruddas Foundation, which aims to benefit "disadvantaged and disengaged" young people in society, states that Cruddas himself came from a disadvantaged background.
Born in Hackney, east London, a lack of family finances forced him to leave Shoreditch comprehensive school with no qualifications at the age of 15, despite having the academic ability.
He would not, he states, be who he is without the Scouts organisation, which enabled him to "escape a violent home situation and the inner city".
His first job was as a telex operator for Western Union in the City, and after being made redundant he went to work in the trading rooms of banks including the Bank of Iran and Marine Midland.
Following a career in foreign exchange trading, lastly as head foreign exchange dealer at a large international bank, in 1989 he established his own company, CMC Markets plc, with a capital of £10,000. It is now worth an estimated £1.25bn.
Causes he champions include the Prince's Trust and Duke of Edinburgh Awards, as well as the Royal Opera House and Royal Ballet.
The twice-married father-of four, 59, whose father was a Smithfield market meat porter, disclosed in an interview with a local Hackney website three years ago that he had homes in Monaco, Antibes, Hertfordshire and Piccadilly, and travelled between them in his private jet.
For several years he was one of the City's "Monaco boys" living in the tax haven and commuting to work via London's City airport.