He became the Tory standard bearer for tougher immigration controls as more Romanians and Bulgarians came to work in the UK.
When he became the Tories' standard-bearer, many in his party feared he would self-destruct.
Zabludowicz is wealthy even by Tory donor standards, with a £1.5bn fortune.
Labour leader Ed Miliband said Mr Osborne failed to mention in his speech that "the working people of Britain are worse off under the Tories, living standards down month after month, year after year".
Late last summer Barnet emerged as the Tories' chosen standard-bearer, to be seen as a radical, forward-looking provider of public services.
In backing the Tories, the Standard said in an editorial on Tuesday: "It is our conviction that what benefits the capital benefits the rest of the country.
After taking the tube to a north London estate, Iain Duncan Smith, the Tory leader, said standards had fallen because the government had dragged its feet for five years.
Michael Gove, the shadow schools secretary who took a 2 1 at Oxford, has long campaigned for the Tories to raise standards in teacher training.
Q: The standard Tory charge against Labour is that there's hardly anyone in the shadow cabinet who has actually run a business, and that means that you, institutionally as a party, somehow don't understand them.
Jenkin called it an appalling disaster and he, as financial secretary to the Treasury, promoted two years later to become chief secretary, found himself having to implement public expenditure cuts to curb inflation, the first inklings of what was to become standard Tory policy in coming decades.
