Dominic Robert Andrew Johnson, Baron Johnson of Lainston, CBE (born 6 April 1974), is a British financier, hedge fund manager and politician, the co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Somerset Capital Management. He currently serves as a Minister of State in the Department for Business and Trade, having served in the department during the tenure of Liz Truss. Johnson has given more than £250,000 to the Conservative Party, and was its vice-chairman from 2016 to 2019.
When Johnson was six months old, his mother fatally stabbed his father after an argument over a burnt meal; although two guests attempted to assist him, Patrick Johnson died two days later aged thirty one.[6] Johnson's mother, aged twenty seven, was found guilty of manslaughter on grounds of diminished responsibility, and sent to Rooksdown Hospital in Hampshire; she was subsequently released and later remarried.[6] Johnson and his older sister were raised by their maternal grandparents.[6]
Johnson began his career in finance with Robert Fleming & Co. in 1995, and then with Jardine Fleming, Hong Kong, in 1998.[8] In 2001, he went into asset management, and worked for Lloyd George Management until 2007.[8] In 2007, he co-founded Somerset Capital Management (SCM) with Jacob Rees-Mogg and Edward Robertson.[8][9] All three were colleagues at Lloyd George Management in Hong Kong.[10] Rees-Mogg was CEO of SCM until Johnson succeeded him in 2010.[10]
In September 2022, SCM with assets under management of about $5 billion was up for sale, with Johnson planning to move into politics, and would be succeeded by chief operating officer Robert Diggle as CEO.[11]
In 2016, when his friend David Cameron stood down as prime minister, Johnson gave him the use of his £2,650-a-week Chelsea house,[1] and Cameron accordingly declared a benefit of more than £37,000 in the register of MPs' interests.[12]
Sunak re-appointed Johnson as a Minister of State for International Trade on 24 November 2022.
In 2024 it was reported that Johnson “made clear that he was keen to see a bigger Infosys presence in the UK and would be happy to do what he could to facilitate that”.[16]
^[Sunak faces fresh Infosys scrutiny as minister accused of giving it ‘VIP access’]
^Debrett's peerage & baronetage : comprises information concerning the royal family, the peerage and baronetage ([147th] ed.). Richmond, Surrey [England]: Debrett's. 2012. p. 638. ISBN9781870520805.