 Club founder John Aspinall, known as "Aspers" to his friends, was a conservationist and the stepson of Sir George Osborne.He was a breeder of wild animals and funded his zoos, to a large extent, from house winnings.In its earlier days, Aspinall's clientele consisted mostly of successful aristocrats who gambled a high part of their incomes, or in a few cases a high proportion of their wealth.