John Caudwell
John Caudwell
John David Caudwellis an English businessman, philanthropist and co-founder of mobile phone retailer Phones 4u. He also invests in fashion, real estate and other industries, and chairs Caudwell Children, a charity which benefits ill or disabled children and their families. He is also known for being the UK's biggest taxpayer...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionBusinessman
Date of Birth7 October 1952
die element panic running time until
I don't think I'm going to live until I'm 70, no; I could die tomorrow. So there isn't a panic that time is running out, but there is an element that anything could happen.
business died growing people running wealthy
If I died tomorrow, I would regret growing so wealthy and still running the business when there are so many more people I could have helped.
charitable charity children confused decided helps leave receive
I decided to leave most of my wealth to my charitable foundation, which is not to be confused with my charity. My charity helps children directly. The charitable foundation will receive most of my legacy when I die.
dozens drop estimate outdoor places safely watch
I can safely say that there are dozens of places on 'Titania' to watch a film with friends. I would estimate there's something like 50 televisions on board, some of which are very big-screen, some of which drop out of ceilings on the outdoor decks.
life
I couldn't even contemplate anyone even making a film about my life!
collection
I do want to keep the Wedgewood Collection in place, intact, and open to the public. Selling it off would be a real tragedy.
best considered elegant image portray several sexy
I considered several names, but Titania, a character from Shakespeare's 'Midsummer Night's Dream', was best able to portray the image I wanted for what is a fantastically elegant and sexy yacht.
paying wasting
I don't like paying too much for anything or wasting it. I think that I'm more of a balanced individual rather than a dichotomy.
becomes money
If you throw money around like confetti, it just becomes shallow and meaningless.
good overcome
I had challenges to overcome as a child, and that was good.
biggest business low lowest primarily risky
In any business opportunity, you'd be looking, probably, primarily at the risk and return. Some business can be very risky with a low return; what you want is the lowest risk with the biggest return.
I just wasn't academic. I wanted to be in the real world.
fashion
I was always interested in ladies' fashion.
years nine obvious
As the years passed, and I was nine, 10, 11 years old, it became obvious I was going to start up a business of some sort.