Jim O'Neill, Baron O'Neill of Gatley facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
The Lord O'Neill of Gatley
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O'Neill in 2020
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| Commercial Secretary to the Treasury | |
| In office 14 May 2015 – 23 September 2016 |
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| Prime Minister | David Cameron Theresa May |
| Chancellor | George Osborne Philip Hammond |
| Preceded by | The Lord Deighton |
| Succeeded by | The Baroness Neville-Rolfe |
| Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal |
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| Assumed office 28 May 2015 Life Peerage |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
Terence James O'Neill
17 March 1957 Manchester, England |
| Political party | None (Crossbencher) (since 2017) |
| Other political affiliations |
Non-affiliated (2016–2017) Conservative (2015–2016) |
| Spouse | Married |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | University of Sheffield University of Surrey |
| Known for | BRIC economic theory |
Terence James O'Neill, Baron O'Neill of Gatley (born 17 March 1957) is a British economist. He is famous for creating the word "BRIC". This word stands for Brazil, Russia, India, and China. He believed these four fast-growing countries would become very important in the world's economy.
Lord O'Neill also used to lead Goldman Sachs Asset Management. He was a government minister for the Conservative Party too. From May 2015 to September 2016, he was the Commercial Secretary to the Treasury in the UK government. He also led a study on how to fight against "superbugs" (bacteria that resist medicines) from 2014 to 2016.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Terence O'Neill grew up in a place called Gatley in England. He went to Burnage Comprehensive school. He studied economics at Sheffield University, earning his first degree in 1977 and a master's degree in 1978.
Later, he earned his PhD in economics from the University of Surrey in 1982. His special research was about how oil-producing countries used their money. In 2024, he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Hull.
His Career Journey
Early in his career, O'Neill worked for big banks like Bank of America. In 1988, he joined Swiss Bank Corporation. There, he became the head of their global research team. In 1997, he started working at Goldman Sachs. By 2001, he was leading their global economics research.
Working at Goldman Sachs
In 2010, O'Neill became the head of Goldman Sachs's Asset Management division. He was in charge of managing over $800 billion. This showed how much Goldman Sachs believed that fast-growing countries were the future of the world economy. In 2011, he was named one of the "50 Most Influential" people by Bloomberg Markets magazine.
In 2001, O'Neill created the well-known term "BRIC". He used it to describe Brazil, Russia, India, and China. He believed these four countries would become major economic powers. He also came up with other terms for groups of growing economies. These included the "Next Eleven" (N-11) and "MINT" (for Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Turkey). O'Neill left Goldman Sachs in 2013.
Fighting Superbugs
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In 2014, the UK Prime Minister asked Lord O'Neill to lead an international group. This group's job was to find ways to fight antimicrobial resistance. This is when germs like bacteria become too strong for medicines to kill them. In 2018, he wrote a book about this important topic called Superbugs: An Arms Race Against Bacteria.
In the House of Lords
In 2015, Terence O'Neill was given a special title: Baron O'Neill of Gatley. This made him a Life Peer, meaning he could sit in the House of Lords. The House of Lords is part of the UK Parliament. He took on a job as the Commercial Secretary to the Treasury without pay.
His main tasks in this role were to help the "Northern Powerhouse" project. This project aimed to boost the economy in northern England. He also worked to improve trade with China. When Theresa May became Prime Minister, she kept him in his job. However, in 2016, Lord O'Neill resigned. He was worried that the new Prime Minister was not fully supporting the Northern Powerhouse project.
Lord O'Neill first sat as a Conservative member in the House of Lords. After leaving the Conservatives, he became an independent member. Since 2017, he has been a "crossbencher", which means he doesn't belong to any political party.
Personal Life
Lord O'Neill is a big fan of football. He even played for his bank's team in London. He has always supported Manchester United F.C.. From 2004 to 2005, he was a non-executive director for the club.
In 2010, there was talk of a group of wealthy Manchester United fans, possibly including O'Neill, trying to buy the club. This group was known as the "Red Knights".
See also
- BRIC
- Emerging markets
- Goldman Sachs
