James Goldsmith was asked what he thought about his daughter Jemima’s marriage to Imran Khan, the Pakistani cricketer. “He will be a good first husband”, he answered straight faced. Well, he was certainly correct that it would not last, but whether her latest beau Hugh Grant would have met with the, now deceased, mogul’s approval, we will never know!

What I do know, however, is that a line I heard from him many years ago still rings true as a bell today. Jimmy was asked what he thought of a particular hot and popular new investment trend, his reply says it all: “If you can spot a trend, you’ve missed it!