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
I'm addicted to the deal, to the next thing. It's irresistible.
break leading life maybe people
I'm a capitalist. I'm not going to feel sympathetic to people leading a life they don't have to lead who, with effort, could maybe break out of it.
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.
I do like a healthy dose of adrenalin, but my character is more rounded. I am not timid; I like excitement.
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.
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.
amount money needed
OK, I've made a preposterous amount of money. But I was born with the attributes needed to do it.
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.