Nigel Farage prepares early election war chest after unveiling Reform UK's third billionaire backer

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage looks to be building an early election war chest after being joined by the party's third billionaire backer. Sasan Ghandehari, an Iranian-born property magnate, is anticipated to become Reform UK's third billionaire donor. He has pledged to donate significant sums of money to Reform, boasting it's not going to be one or two million - but more.The billionaire has dubbed Mr Farage the only person who can change this country. TRENDING Stories Videos Your Say In an interview with the Telegraph, Mr Ghandehari said he had decided to go public with his support for the party because Britain, which he has called home for the past 30 years, has been failed by the mainstream parties.The property magnate now joins Christopher Harborne and Ben Delo as the billionaires backing Mr Farage's Reform. Funding from the three men will potentially give the party a financial boost greater than any other's as Mr Farage begins to build his general election war chest.Reform raised £9.9million in donations in the first quarter of 2026, dwarfing the Tories' £6million and Labour's £4.1million, Electoral Commission data shows. Mr Ghandehari believes an early national poll is inevitable as Andy Burnham is set to succeed Sir Keir Starmer in the coming weeks. His family's HP Trust sponsored Mr Farage on his visit to the World Economic Forum in Davos at the start of the year, which drew attention to the largely-unknown billionaire. The 61-year-old said he had been following Nigel since Britain escaped the clutches of Brussels in 2016. I’ve been following Nigel for a long time, since Brexit. There were people who wanted to introduce Nigel to me, but I also wanted to learn more about him, because I’ve been approached numerous times by the previously mainstream parties, and I always decline. My focus was somewhere else.LATEST DEVELOPMENTSAndy Burnham's promises and inherited black holes to cost taxpayer more than £250 BILLIONPM breaks silence on resignation and issues Andy Burnham warning: 'I don't think it's possible!'Robert Jenrick sparks 'two-tier justice' row after white man arrested despite 'assault by black men'“I didn’t want to do anything regarding UK politics until I realised Nigel was saying what I want to see in this country, and he’s achieving it.“I checked with some friends in the US. They spoke very highly of Nigel, and two things really struck me - that he’s an honest politician, and he’s a great leader.“I’ve seen so many leaders, financial and political leaders, and I can tell if somebody is a rare commodity, and Nigel struck me as that, and he’s done nothing to disprove that, and everything to increasingly prove that, he said.Mr Ghandehari is currently in the process of moving his tax residency to the UK from Switzerland in order to make a political donation to Reform. Political donors are required to be living in the UK for tax purposes and must be publicly identified on filings to the Electoral Commission. Sir Keir Starmer brought in a £100,000 limit on donations from British citizens overseas in March. Mr Ghandehari has said the donation will go into the multi-millions, saying: It’s not going to be one or two million, it’s going to be more. At this stage, I’m not going to put a figure on it, but I don’t want to be number one. Number one is Chris [Harborne] so maybe number two, number three. It’s going to be regular payments.Mr Farage described his new backer as an extraordinary bloke with connections to prime ministers, presidents and global leaders at a level he had not encountered before.He said: When we spend time together, I listen very carefully. He's got a great degree of wisdom. And to be honest the fact that he's placing so much faith and trust in me is very, very flattering indeed.He said he wanted to make London a city where women can wear jewellery and men can wear watches, and we can let our late teenage kids out to enjoy themselves and not be scared. And he insisted he believed Britain's economy could - one day - be turned around. Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter