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
borrowing bought detached family financial house huge life money outside status taking
I was only 21 when I bought a five-bedroom detached house in Stoke-on-Trent that was way outside of my financial status in life. I did it by borrowing money from my family and the bank, taking out a huge mortgage.
creating easier hire home knew managers might money people satisfying senior work
I might have made more money if I had outsourced to India, and I knew I'd find it easier to hire senior managers in London. But I wanted to be in Stoke. What could be more satisfying than creating work for 3,000 people in my home town?
buy happiness lack money
I would be the first to say that while a lack of money can cause misery, money doesn't buy you happiness.
childhood couple mine money quite traumatic work
Mine was quite a working-class childhood with very little money, and my father was out of work a couple of times, which had quite a traumatic effect.
amount money needed
OK, I've made a preposterous amount of money. But I was born with the attributes needed to do it.
create encourage government money people rich strangle taxes
Taxes aren't the way to go. They'd strangle the economy; you wouldn't create the wealth. And nothing squanders money as well as a government. What we need is to encourage rich people to give.
bring happiness health money
The only really important thing, at the end of the day, is your health. If you haven't got that, then all the money in the world isn't going to bring you happiness.
albeit assets interested money quite saving spend work
I'm a wealth creator. I'm not interested in saving in the least. While I do spend a lot, I don't spend money like other billionaires. I'm probably quite unusual, albeit I do have some of the significant trappings. But I always try to make my assets work for a living.
becomes money
If you throw money around like confetti, it just becomes shallow and meaningless.
born brought careful definitely factor family frugal known money success value
I'm known for value for money. I was brought up to be frugal, and it's definitely a factor in my success. I was born in the Fifties, which was a frugal era, and my family had to be very careful with money out of necessity.
people
People can come to me, and no matter how expert they are, I can virtually always see a way of doing something better.
admired drive term understood
Before I really even understood what the term meant, I wanted to be wealthy. I wanted to be able to drive the beautiful old Rolls-Royces my father admired when I was a child.
great managerial
At the end of the day, if you've got the great idea, and someone judges you've got the managerial capability, you'll probably get the backing for it.
colossal deficit obligation pay people reasonable
When the country's indebtedness is so colossal and where the budget deficit is so huge, there is a moral obligation on people to pay their fair and reasonable dues.