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
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Journalists like to say I started off sweeping the pottery floors. But it was just a short-lived part time job doing that after I left school.
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I have a helicopter that I use for U.K. business trips, and I fly myself. I have a yacht in Antibes in the south of France, which is a sort of indulgence, as we only use it for about four weeks a year. The rest of the time, it is chartered out to people as a business.
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I didn't want my epitaph to read 'Here lies John Caudwell, billionaire.' I knew that wasn't enough. I've had a charitable instinct all my life, but working gave me no time for it.
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My second business would have succeeded but for competitors' jealousy. I was selling motorbike gear cheap, but the people I was undercutting complained to the manufacturer and cut off my supply. It showed me how corrupt business can be. When I sold phones, the same thing happened, but this time I was ready.
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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.
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It's important to show children love, affection and balance and invest time in their moral upbringing.
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I was bullied at school for my red hair; today I still come out fighting hard. I give as good as I get. In business, it's about finding solutions, not being rolled over.
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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?
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Knowing that my ancestry had all been quite wealthy and owned their own businesses probably left me with the ambition to replicate what they'd done.
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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.
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Some of the things I did in my early career were massive learning curves because I had no one to guide me. You learn very quickly because it costs you torment and trouble.
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My objective is to leave my family adequately catered for, but I want my children to make their own way. I want them to have pride in their own achievements.
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I will stay living in Staffordshire. Other people would be moving offshore. I am reasonably happy to help support the British economy. I have done very well out of Britain.
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There are lots of brownfield sites in Stoke, but they are not suitable for building executive homes. It needs to be surrounded by fields. It needs to be on greenbelt land. That's what executives want.