Rich Lister and exchange traded fund pioneer Graham Tuckwell has admitted that an $81 million donation of shares into a charitable foundation he named after himself was motivated by a large personal tax bill, according to documents filed in a Jersey court.

Three private equity firms are suing Mr Tuckwell and claiming he has ridden roughshod over minority shareholders by refusing to disperse hundreds of millions of dollars from the sale of ETFS Securities in 2017. They claim he is denying them an exit and had converted the business into a family office.