Quotes from 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.

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.

I was always interested in ladies' fashion.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

E-mails are the cancer of modern business.

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