Levison was born in a poor neighborhood of Aberdeen while his father was a medical student at the University of Aberdeen. His father abandoned the family for several years and went to work in the United States, and Levison's mother relied heavily on the British social welfare network during his childhood. In 1971, his parents reconciled and the family came to live in the United States, and eventually settled in Merion, Pennsylvania, on Philadelphia's wealthy Main Line. He graduated from Lower Merion High School in 1981 and returned to Scotland later that year to join the British Army. He frequently credits his experience of extreme poverty and extreme wealth while still a child for giving him a unique perspective on how national economics affects individuals.
