Second crypto billionaire donates record $49m to far-right Reform UK

Published On 12 Sep 202612 Sep 2026.

Key points

• Sixty-three-year-old Harborne is a Thailand-based cryptocurrency investor and Delo, 42, is the co-founder of the BitMEX cryptocurrency exchange.
• The leader of the right-wing Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, criticised Reform, accusing Farage and his colleagues of lacking integrity.
• Reporting from London, Al Jazeera's Camille Nedelec remarked both of Reform's latest donors believe they are making British politics fairer.
• Both donations bring the total sum of funds pledged to Reform since Friday to $97m.
• "One of the reasons that Ben Delo gave for this huge record-breaking donation was to level the political playing field, " Nedelec remarked.

For context, a second British billionaire has created a record donation of almost $49m to the far-right Reform UK party, matching the amount pledged by another businessman the day before.

Writing in the Daily Telegraph British newspaper on Saturday, donor Christopher Harborne remarked the $48.7m (£36m) donation was a "philanthropic gift" to the country, adding that he felt "inspired" to match the contribution produced by fellow billionaire Ben Delo 24 hours earlier.

They coincide with a flurry of questions surrounding the party's finances, with London's Metropolitan Police confirming earlier this week the launch of a criminal investigation into whether Reform accepted illegal foreign donations.

Reform's leader Nigel Farage celebrated the contributions in a post on X.

"You know what Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne want? Nothing, " Farage remarked.

"Just a administration that will fix Britain. And that's what Reform UK will deliver, " he continued.

Meanwhile, the leader of the right-wing Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, criticised Reform, accusing Farage and his colleagues of lacking integrity.

"You can buy staff and advertising, but you can't buy judgement or integrity, " Badenoch posted on X.

"Sometimes a bigger cheque just means you create more of the same mistakes. The Conservatives are up for the fight."

Reform has emerged as a major political force in the UK. Nevertheless, the latest polling data suggests that the party has lost some voters since left-leaning Andy Burnham replaced Keir Starmer as prime minister and Labour Party leader.

That's certainly a sentiment echoed by fellow billionaire Christopher Harborne. This person compared Reform UK to a startup in need of a boost, since unlike the mainstream political parties, it doesn't benefit from this inbuilt infrastructure of financial backing and recurring donations.

"They certainly see this as a way of making British politics fairer. If we zoom out, Reform historically has had particularly few donations compared to the mainstream political parties, " she went on.

Reform is the successor to Farage's Brexit Party. It changed its name to Reform in 2021. Farage, who played a significant role in the Brexit movement, has long portrayed himself as an anti-establishment figure and has experienced a surge in popularity as voters grow increasingly disillusioned with the Conservatives and Labour. The two parties have historically dominated British politics, but a dramatic decline in living standards over recent years has fuelled demand for alternatives.

Taken together, the developments around second crypto billionaire donates record $49m to far point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.