John Caudwell

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

“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.”

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

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

“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.”

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