He is the father of Janet Wolfson de Botton.

[2] Having been knighted in 1977,[3] he was created a Life Peer on 13 June 1985 with the title Baron Wolfson, of Marylebone in the City of Westminster.

On the death of his father in 1991, Lord Wolfson succeeded as 2nd Baronet (styled "of St Marylebone in the County of London").

Wolfson was a philanthropist, supporting many causes: he was president of the Jewish Welfare Board, and a trustee of the Imperial War Museum.

The Lord Leonard and Lady Estelle Wolfson Foundation was set up in 2012, and continues to support scientific and medical research, education and the arts.