John Caudwell Quotes

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.

- John Caudwell

I make no apology for wanting to make a profit - the more I make, the bigger percentage will go to charity. So most of the work I do now is motivated by that.

- John Caudwell

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.

- John Caudwell

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.

- John Caudwell

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.

- John Caudwell

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.

- John Caudwell

Business is about being the best that you can be, and there are always glowing examples of people that we can all learn from.

- John Caudwell

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.

- John Caudwell

I do like a healthy dose of adrenalin, but my character is more rounded. I am not timid; I like excitement.

- John Caudwell

Business gives you a massive high. Doing a great deal, coming up with an inspirational solution... It's very addictive. But it doesn't last long. In isolation, it's a bit sterile. It doesn't reward the soul.

- John Caudwell

In the early days, I had everything to prove. A very working class lad with a burning ambition. A very crude way of measuring success is how much you are worth.

- John Caudwell

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?

- John Caudwell

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.

- John Caudwell

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.

- John Caudwell

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.

- John Caudwell

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.

- John Caudwell

I saw that e-mail was insidiously invading Phones 4u, so I banned it immediately.

- John Caudwell

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.

- John Caudwell

OK, I've made a preposterous amount of money. But I was born with the attributes needed to do it.

- John Caudwell

The power of fear of failure, with will to win, is an incredible force. I don't think we should be worried about having a fear of failure; I think it's quite natural. If you surveyed any top businessman or any top athlete, I bet if they were truthful, they would all say they've got a fear of losing and a fear of failure.

- John Caudwell

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.

- John Caudwell

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.

- John Caudwell

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.

- John Caudwell

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.

- John Caudwell

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.

- John Caudwell

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.

- John Caudwell

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.

- John Caudwell

'Titania' is the best yacht currently afloat of its kind and size. There is very little, if anything, that anybody would go wanting for on 'Titania.'

- John Caudwell

I will give away at least half my wealth during my lifetime and after my death. In the meantime, I'll continue to grow my wealth as much as possible so that the amount I bequeath to charities and worthy causes can be as substantial as possible.

- John Caudwell

My philosophy is very much to encourage my children to forge their own success and happiness, even though that will undoubtedly involve much more modest levels of wealth creation.

- John Caudwell

I always felt, right from a youngster, that it was my destiny to be a success. It sounds a little bit egotistical, but I felt I had a calling to do something.

- John Caudwell

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.

- John Caudwell

I always switch off from the business when I go across the threshold. Home is home, and I try to keep it that way.

- John Caudwell

I really do feel guilty that I don't visit me mum enough.

- John Caudwell

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.

- John Caudwell

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.

- John Caudwell

My main commitment is to Caudwell Children. I put more than £1m a year into the charity, besides a lot of time and effort.

- John Caudwell

Those of us who have yet to find philanthropy may find there is a far greater reward from it than from wealth creation.

- John Caudwell

My father was unwell when I was 11, had a stroke at 14 and died when I was 18. My mother going to work at seven in the morning and coming back to look after him and me and my brother left its mark on me.

- John Caudwell

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.

- John Caudwell

If you throw money around like confetti, it just becomes shallow and meaningless.

- John Caudwell

I'm addicted to the deal, to the next thing. It's irresistible.

- John Caudwell

It's important to show children love, affection and balance and invest time in their moral upbringing.

- John Caudwell

E-mails are the cancer of modern business.

- John Caudwell

Really good customer service will deliver sales. You are training salesmen to give the best possible advice and then to achieve the sale. People actually like you to ask for a sale because it shows you value their business.

- John Caudwell

I was always interested in ladies' fashion.

- John Caudwell

I believe in workers' rights when people are doing a good job.

- John Caudwell

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.

- John Caudwell

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.

- John Caudwell

When I came into the mobile phone business, I was really the upstart who pretty much took the business, not quite by storm, but really made an impact on it quite early on. But it was from a position, really, of feeling that I was a last mover.

- John Caudwell

When my back's to the wall, I want to fight.

- John Caudwell

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.

- John Caudwell

I suppose I have very undesirable traits. I am very critical, which is very undesirable. But it is good from a business point of view.

- John Caudwell

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.

- John Caudwell

People are much more important than superficial environments.

- John Caudwell

People can come to me, and no matter how expert they are, I can virtually always see a way of doing something better.

- John Caudwell

My favourite thing is to come down to London from my home in Staffordshire in the helicopter and then get my bike out of the back and cycle into London. It's wonderful.

- John Caudwell

Sometimes your worst competitors are the ones which are dying because they do stupid things.

- John Caudwell

I do not put my tastes as incredibly expensive, but they are incredibly expensive for an average man.

- John Caudwell

I just wasn't academic. I wanted to be in the real world.

- John Caudwell

I'm in the lucky position that I can help a huge amount of people. It's a great privilege and freedom to have.

- John Caudwell

I'd much rather leave £2bn to charity, or £3bn or £4bn, than £1bn. That is my motivation to carry on working as hard as I do.

- John Caudwell

I do want to keep the Wedgewood Collection in place, intact, and open to the public. Selling it off would be a real tragedy.

- John Caudwell

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.

- John Caudwell

I would be the first to say that while a lack of money can cause misery, money doesn't buy you happiness.

- John Caudwell

I realised I've got quite a talent for coming up with ideas for design. I've got so many ideas about fashion.

- John Caudwell

I had challenges to overcome as a child, and that was good.

- John Caudwell

I couldn't even contemplate anyone even making a film about my life!

- John Caudwell

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.

- John Caudwell