Editing William Jardine (merchant) (section)

==Death and legacy==
In late 1842, Jardine's health had rapidly deteriorated due to [[colon cancer]]. In the latter part of the year, Jardine was already bedridden and in great pain. He was assisted by his nephew, Andrew Johnstone and later on by James Matheson in his correspondence. Despite his illness, Jardine was still very active in keeping an eye on business, politics and current affairs, and continued to welcome a steady stream of visits from family members, business partners, political associates and his constituents.  

He died on 27 February 1843, just three days after his 59th birthday, one of the richest and most powerful men in Britain and Member of Parliament. Jardine's funeral was attended by a very large gathering of family, friends, government and business personalities, many of whom Jardine had helped in his lifetime.

Jardine, a bachelor, willed his estate to his siblings and his nephews. Though gleaning from Oxford University Press' immense collection of Jardine Matheson's correspondence from its earliest years, it can be speculated that Jardine had an illegitimate child, a daughter, with a 'Mrs. Ratcliffe' who was provided with an annual pension and shares with Jardine's firms which was later on cashed out years after Jardine's death. Jardine had provided extensive correspondence with various associates in London instructing to carry out provisions to Mrs. Ratcliffe and her daughter, named Matilda Jane or 'Tilly' as Jardine affectionately called her in his letters. There were also letters from Tilly to Jardine requesting for additional monetary assistance. An older nephew, Andrew Johnstone, administered Jardine's issue. 

His other nephews David, Joseph, Robert and Andrew Jardine, all sons of Jardine's older brother David, continued to assist James Matheson in running Jardines. Matheson retired as taipan in 1842 and handed over control of the firm to his nephew Sir Alexander Matheson, who was also known as of the same capacity and competence as the elder Jardine and Matheson. David Jardine, another nephew of Jardine, became taipan after Sir Alexander Matheson and was one of the first two unofficial members appointed to the Legislative Council in Hong Kong.<ref>{{cite book|title=History of the Laws and Courts of Hong Kong|last=Norton-Kyshe|first=James William|date=1898|publisher=T Fisher Unwin|volume=I|place=London}}</ref>{{rp|261}} David in turn would hand over to his brother Sir Robert control of the firm. Joseph succeeded Robert as taipan.

[[Sir Robert Jardine, 1st Baronet|Sir Robert Jardine]] (1825–1905) is the ancestor of the [[Buchanan-Jardine baronets|Buchanan-Jardine branch]] of the family. A descendant of Sir Robert, Sir John Buchanan-Jardine, sold his family's 51% holding in Jardine, Matheson and Co. for $84 million at the then prevailing exchange rate in 1959. A great-nephew of Jardine who would be taipan from 1874 to 1886, [[William Keswick]] (1834–1912), is the ancestor of the [[Keswick branch]] (pronounced Ke-zick) of the family. 

Keswick is a grandson of Jardine's older sister, Jean Johnstone. Keswick was responsible for opening the Japan office of the firm in 1859 and also expanding the Shanghai office. James Matheson returned to England to fill up the Parliament seat left vacant by Jardine and to head up the firm Matheson & Co., previously known as Magniac, Jardine & Co., in London, a merchant bank and Jardines' agent in England.  

In 1912, Jardine, Matheson & Co. and the Keswicks would eventually buy out the shares of the Matheson family in the firm although the name is still retained. The company was managed by several of Jardine's family members and their descendants throughout the decades, including the Keswicks, Buchanan-Jardines, Landales, Bell-Irvings, Patersons, Newbiggings and Weatheralls.

Notable Jardines [[managing director]]s, or taipans, included [[Sir Alexander Matheson, 1st Baronet]], [[David Jardine (Hong Kong)|David Jardine]], [[Sir Robert Jardine, 1st Baronet|Robert Jardine]], William Keswick, [[James Johnstone Keswick]], [[Ben Beith]], [[David Landale]], Sir John Buchanan-Jardine, [[Tony Keswick|Sir William Johnstone "Tony" Keswick]], [[Hugh Barton]], Sir [[Michael Herries]], [[Sir John Keswick]], Sir [[Henry Keswick (businessman)|Henry Keswick]], [[Simon Keswick]] and [[Alasdair Morrison (Jardine's)|Alasdair Morrison]]. There was a point in time in the early 20th century that the firm had two taipans at the same time, one in Hong Kong and one in Shanghai, to effectively manage the firm's extensive affairs in both locations. Both taipans were responsible only to the senior partner or proprietor in London who was normally a retired former taipan and an elder member of the Jardine family.

Today, the [[Jardine Matheson Holdings|Jardine Matheson Group]] is still very much active in Hong Kong, being one of the largest conglomerates in Hong Kong and its largest employer, second only to the government. Several landmarks in present-day Hong Kong are named after the firm and the founders Jardine and Matheson like [[Jardine's Bazaar]], Jardine's Crescent, Jardine's Bridge, [[Jardine's Lookout]], [[Yee Wo Street]], Matheson Street, [[Jardine House]] and the [[Noon Day Gun]].  In 1947, a secret Trust was formed by members of the family to retain effective control over the company.  

Jardine, Matheson and Co. offered its shares to the public in 1961 under the tenure of Hugh Barton and was oversubscribed 56 times. The Keswick family, in consortium with several London-based banks and financial institutions, bought out the controlling shares of the Buchanan-Jardine family in 1959, but subsequently sold most of the shares during the 1961 public offering, retaining only about 10% of the company. The company had its head office redomiciled to [[Bermuda]] in 1984 under the tenure of Simon Keswick.

The present Chairman of Jardine Matheson Holdings Ltd, Sir Henry Keswick, who is based in the UK, was the company's taipan from 1970 (aged 31) to 1975 and was the 6th Keswick to be taipan of the company. His brother Simon was the company's taipan from 1983 to 1988 and is the 7th Keswick to be taipan. Both brothers are the fourth generation of Keswicks in the company. The organizational structure of Jardines has changed almost totally, but members of Jardine's family still control the firm through a complex cross-shareholding structure, several allied shareholders and a secretive 1947 Trust.