Property developer David Goldstone – who developed the MI6 building and chaired two Welsh football teams – has died, aged 91.
Mr Goldstone passed away at Swansea's Morriston Hospital, where he was being treated for coronavirus. He was buried in Swansea Hebrew Cemetery at a small ceremony attended by family and a handful of close friends.
Having qualified as a solicitor in 1955 from the London School of Economics, the Swansea native moved to London and began a long career in property development.
He was involved in the regeneration of Battersea Village, and in the 1980s, owned Land’s End in Cornwall, before selling it to Peter de Savary for £7 million.
In the 1970s, Mr Goldstone had been drawn back to Wales as part of a group of investors keen to take over Swansea City Football Club.
In a 2015 interview, he recalled that “when I was kid, even though I came from an Orthodox Jewish family, as we only lived a few hundred yards from the Vetch Field [Swansea's former stadium] after going to synagogue in the morning, I and other kids went there to watch Swansea play."
He became Swansea chairman and presided over a successful period at the club. But following a change in investors, Mr Goldstone took over the chairmanship of arch rivals Cardiff City.
In later life, he was involved in philanthropic work, chairing the children’s charity Coram, named after Thomas Coram, who established the Foundling Hospital in London. He also supported the Jaffa Institute in Israel, providing funds for the expansion of the Bet Shemesh Education Centre.
He also acted as a pro bono property adviser to the Welsh Government, brokering deals on new developments.
In a tribute, Edwina Hart, a former minister in the Senedd, said Mr Goldstone “enjoyed a long and highly successful career in business and combined this with an interest and passion for the arts, charity and sports.
“His advice to me as a minister was invaluable and he will be sorely missed by many as a friend.”
The Swansea Hebrew Congregation member also advised the Wales Millennium Centre and the Cardiff Airport board
Awarded a CBE in 2010 for public services, he is survived by three children, ten grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
