Duke Buchan

Buchan grew up near Henderson, North Carolina[6] on his family's tobacco and cattle farms.[7][8] He received a BA in economics and Spanish from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) in 1985, and an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1991.[9]

At UNC-CH, Buchan was enrolled in the university's study abroad program[9] at the University of Seville, Spain,[2] from 1983 to 1984[5] and also studied at the University of Valencia[6] in 1980.[5] Buchan later commented on his studies in Spain: "The study of the Spanish language, literature and cultures provided me a passport to a world outside the U.S. and instilled in me a global perspective."[9]

In the early 1990s, Buchan started his investment banking career. From 1992 to 1997, he was a Vice President at Merrill Lynch.[2] There he specialized in global corporate finance, and mergers and acquisitions in the financial services sector[10] in Latin America,[2] the United States and Europe.[10]

In 2001, Buchan founded Hunter Global Investors[2] in New York City.[11] In 2007, Hunter had approximately US$1.5 billion assets under management.[8] After beating U.S. stocks by 46 percent between 2001 and March 2011,[12] Buchan closed one of his funds in December 2011[13] due to losses stemming from the European debt crisis,[2] and returned money to investors.[12] He converted Hunter Global Investors into a family office to manage his family's assets,[14] and continues to manage two funds,[2] which invest in a range of asset classes globally, including real estate. He has traveled, lived, and/or done business in more than 50 countries for more than four decades.[11]

On November 2, 2017 Buchan was confirmed by the United States Senate by voice vote.[15] He was sworn in by Vice President Mike Pence on December 11, 2017.[5] As Ambassador, Buchan drew upon his financial experience to strengthen trade relations with the United States. In 2019 he helped update the bilateral tax agreement to end the double taxation for companies that operate in both countries, saving billions of dollars that can be reinvested in the two countries to create jobs while combatting tax evasion.[16]

Buchan was a forceful advocate for democracy, equality, freedom and human rights on various fronts. He repeatedly spoke out against authoritarian regimes, especially in Venezuela and Cuba.[17] In November 2019, he traveled to Venezuela’s border with Colombia to bring eyewitness attention to the humanitarian crisis caused by the regime of Nicolás Maduro and his primary ally, Cuba. “I saw pregnant Venezuelan women waiting to give birth in an extremely overcrowded maternity ward,” Buchan wrote in the Spanish language newspaper El Mundo “I saw very weak children and the elderly waiting to receive their only meal of the day at a soup kitchen. Children are dying from starvation The elderly are without medication or care. This must stop now. … It’s time to close the door on tyrants.”[18]

Buchan is a Republican National Committee Presidential Trustee and served as a RNC State Victory Chair for both New York and Florida.[21] In 2015 and 2016, Buchan contributed to Paul Ryan, John McCain and Marco Rubio, among others.[22] After first supporting former Governor Jeb Bush’s 2016 presidential campaign, and serving on the executive committee of Bush's Right to Rise PAC, Buchan and his wife Hannah became early financial supporters of Donald Trump's presidential campaign.[2]

Buchan and his wife Hannah have three children. The family owns and manages farms that grow over 100 varieties of heirloom tomatoes[11] and vegetables[6] and raise horses. The Buchans run a farm stand, develop new varieties of tomatoes, and donate their produce to charities.[11] His primary residence is in Palm Beach, Florida.[2]

He is fluent in Spanish, conversant in French, and has a basic knowledge of Italian and Catalan.[14]

Media related to Duke Buchan at Wikimedia Commons