Farage's fossil fuel donors profit from Iran war
Democracy for Sale analysis finds 'war premium' driving up energy costs is also boosting the portfolios of some of Reform's biggest backers
The war in Iran is fast approaching its fourth week. Donald Trump says a deal is within reach; Tehran denies it. But one thing is certain: the conflict is already having a significant impact on the global economy.
Energy prices have surged. Interest rates are expected to rise. The cost of living looks set to climb even higher.
Not everyone, however, is losing out. The US-Israeli attack on Iran has delivered a substantial windfall for fossil fuel investors - including some of Nigel Farage’s biggest donors.
Analysis by Democracy for Sale shows that major Reform donors are benefitting from the so-called “war premium” driving up energy prices.
Many of Reform’s biggest donors have financial interests in oil and gas. Among them is Jeremy Hosking. The hedge fund boss - and railway enthusiast - has donated £1.7 million to Reform since 2019.
Hosking Partners lists more than a dozen fossil fuel and energy companies among its almost $3 billion under management in its most recent corporate filings, to December 2025.
Since the war in Iran began, the value of Hosking Partners’ energy and fossil fuel investments have risen by more than $25 million our analysis found.
The fund’s shares in ExxonMobil, Chevron, and Warrior Met Coal have all jumped in recent weeks.
Shares in Occidental Petroleum, which was trading at $53.15 on February 27 - the last trading day before the strikes - were worth $60.71 at the end of trading on Monday, making Hosking Partners’ stake in the company worth $4.4 million more than before Trump and Netanyahu attacked Iran.
The firm’s 170,000 shares in refiner Marathon Petroleum have jumped 17% to $39.5 million, while its shares in upstream oil and gas firm ConocoPhillips have grown by $4.5 million
Not all bets have paid off. Hosking Partners’ stakes in several oil tanker companies have fallen after Iran blocked the Strait of Hormuz. But those losses are far outweighed by gains in oil, gas and coal stocks.
Hosking Partners did not respond to requests for comment, but Hosking previously told DeSmog: “I do not have millions in fossil fuels; it is the clients of Hosking Partners who are the beneficiaries of these investments.”
That’s true, but Hosking has earned substantial income from his fund’s success - and has frequently channelled that wealth into politics. Alongside Reform, he has donated millions to the Conservatives, Vote Leave, and bankrolled Laurence Fox’s failed Reclaim Party.
Hosking is not the only Reform donor with a big stake in oil and gas. Analysis by the New York Times last year found that individuals who have “openly questioned climate change or have investments in fossil fuel or other polluting industries” accounted for 40% of donations to Farage’s party in 2024.
More recent donors have also been heavily invested in fossil fuels. In November, Ashley Mark Levett gave £200,000 to Reform. His Monaco-based company, Levmet, is a global commodities trader whose interests include oil and gas.
Meanwhile, Jacques Tohme - owner of Nova Venture Holdings, which donated £50,000 - previously lobbied the UK government to scrap the windfall tax on energy firms while leading a North Sea oil and gas industry body.
Farage, who has increasingly made opposition to net zero a core plank of Reform’s policy offer, recently called for the North Sea windfall tax to be lifted, a move the Labour government is said to be considering.
Paul Morozzo, senior climate campaigner for Greenpeace UK, says that Reform’s opposition to net zero seems to reflect the priority of its donors rather than the realities of the UK’s decarbonisation drive.
“The UK’s overall economic growth was a feeble 1.1% in 2024, but the Low Carbon and Renewable Energy Economy managed over ten times that rate with 11.8%,” Morozzo told Democracy for Sale.
“That’s why Reform’s fossil-fuel funded politicians are so opposed to climate science, and to the Net Zero target it requires. Not because Net Zero is an economic failure, but because its rapid success will hit their donor’s profits.”
Thanks for that article Peter. He should be charged with inciting ecocide. We need political parties funded out of general taxation and strict rules around lobbying. We know that Israel is in Westminster every day because the embassy is around the corner. Israel is part of our establishment and it is intolerable to have so many politicians bought off by offers of free holidays etc. We saw a group of returning Labour politicians who had thought it was fine to take a holiday in a country committing genocide. Phil Miller was there I believe, from Declassified and nobody said they regretted their holiday. It is sick. We badly need political renewal. We need them out of London and we need a fair system and a fair voting system and getting this kind of money out of our politics. Given that Farage stole lots of money from the EU, why has he not got a criminal sentence? He should be barred from even being an MP. That is, if we are genuinely equal under the law. It was a lot of money. I actually think Reform will be killing each other and crashing the party before the next general election. Then that other racist will get Farage's vote. But they won't win a general election in this country, no matter what the BBC and main stream journalism says, to help him. The Greens will win. Zak Polanski just keeps growing in stature. I saw an online advert of his and it was slick. He can think on his feet and is intelligent. I think Trump has worn people out here as well as across the pond and people will vote for intelligent over divisive. That is my prediction. I should put some money on them now. I would if I had any!
Where there’s muck farage will be there 💩💩