"Because bankers measure their self-worth in money, and pay themselves a lot of it, they think they're fine fellows and don't need to explain themselves."
Buchan is the son of William Buchan, 3rd Baron Tweedsmuir and grandson of John Buchan, the Scottish novelist and diplomat. He was educated at Eton and Magdalen College, Oxford, and began his career as a Financial Times correspondent, writing from the Middle East, Germany, and the United States. In 1986, he married Lady Evelyn Rose Phipps, daughter of Oswald Phipps, 4th Marquess of Normanby. He has 3 children, Nicholas, Elizabeth and Rose.