I’m a billionaire but I HATE spending money – I get my jeans for £29 from Zara
A BILLIONAIRE who owns Britain's most expensive home says he hates spending money and gets his jeans for £29 from Zara.
John Caudwell, 71, came from humble beginnings to build a successful business empire and is now reportedly worth £1.5billion.
But the mobile phone mogul has now revealed he scrimps and saves where he can, including buying high street jeans.
In an interview with the iPaper, Caudwell revealed he describes himself as "flashy" and "frugal".
He said: "Out of the public eye you won’t see me in one of the glitzy jackets I’m known for. They’re just for the charity dinners. At home I’ll be in £29 Zara jeans and a shirt."
The billionaire also revealed how his greatest extravagance was a £1.8m helicopter he bought in 2009.
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He said: "That sounds a lot, but when you’re a billionaire it’s not really. At the time I needed it to travel around the country quickly, but I don’t need it anymore, so now it is an indulgence."
But that's a long way from moving into the first home he owned which had no furniture or gas.
He said: "We sat on orange boxes, borrowed a stove from my mother’s caravan and cooked bean on toast on that until we eventually got out of the poverty trap. But I didn’t see it as a struggle. It was just where we were at that point."
He now lives in a lavish £250million mansion in Mayfair which is a billionaire's paradise with its own bar and cinema.
Being able to afford that kind of property came after some savvy business skills.
Caudwell started out selling mobile phones in 1987, and almost two decades later flogged off his company Phones4u for £1.46b.
He said his best business decision had been to stick with the mobile phone market, despite losing money for two years.
Caudwell said he had a strong belief that eventually things would improve and the uptake on mobile phones would grow.
He now claims his money weakness to be charity and once even spent £800,000 for three days in South Africa with Elton John and David Furnish visiting their own charitable work.
His incredible home also has space for an incredible car collection.
The "car stacker" is John's favourite toy, as it can take eight cars from street level to storage at the press of a button.
It also allows him to keep a watchful eye on his vintage car collection through the glass from the comfort of his extraordinary home.
Inside 'Billionaire paradise' most expensive home in UK
By Olivia Burke
John Caudwell's luxury pad, located in London's Mayfair, is a billionaire's paradise with its own bar and cinema.
The Phones 4 U founder knocked together two mansions to create his dream home, which is the average size of 55 London flats — and more than twice the size of the Royal Albert Hall.
The £250million property boasts eight floors, 15 bedrooms, and a 120-capacity ballroom, which is rumoured to be the largest privately-owned hall in the capital.
Set in a Portland stone building, the super-home spans 43,000sq ft and has more than enough room for John, his partner and former Olympian Modesta Vžesniauskaitė and their six-month-old son, William, to roam around.
It is decked out with a personalised cinema, a dining room complete with flowing river and live fish and an indoor car park that is also a "beautiful piece of art".
