John Caudwell
| John Caudwell | |
|---|---|
| Born |
John David Caudwell 7 October 1952 Birmingham, England |
| Residence | Stoke-on-Trent, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | Berry Hill High School, Stoke-on-Trent |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Years active | 1973–present |
| Known for | Mobile phone business |
| Net worth | US$2.4 billion (Forbes 2016) |
| Spouse(s) | separated |
| Children | 5 |
John David Caudwell (born 7 October 1952) is 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. On the Forbes 2016 list of the world's billionaires, he was ranked #722 with a net worth of US$2.4 billion.
Caudwell was born in Birmingham but moved with his family as a baby to Stoke-on-Trent and raised in Wellesley Street in Shelton, and with his brother Brian attended Shelton Church of England School, and then Berry Hill High School. His father had a stroke when he was 14 and died 4 years later. His mother lives in the Midlands.
Caudwell abandoned his A-levels to become an apprentice at Michelin, and worked for several years there as an engineering foreman while gaining an HNC in mechanical engineering. Whilst working at Michelin he also ran a corner shop and started a mail order business selling clothing to motor bikers, both of which were successful, his motorcycle clothing business so much so that the manufacturer for a period refused to sell him stock because he was outperforming established retailers.
In 1986, whilst still trading motorcars, Caudwell became aware of the first of the then new mobile phones, and discovered that there were large profit margins possible, so contacted the American handset maker Motorola to see if he could do a deal.
With his brother Brian, in 1987 Caudwell registered Midland Mobile Phones as a mobile phone wholesaler, taking 26 Motorola mobiles at £1,350 each. It took 8 months to sell these 26 phones to local plumbers, taxi drivers and television repairmen at a price of £2,000 each. The company made a loss every month for the first two years of operations.
Developing from a small dealership to a wholesale distributor, however, turnover expanded to £13 million in 1991, making it the UK's largest independent distributor of mobile phones. Turnover increased from £13 million in 1991 to over £1 billion in 2000. In 1996 and 1997, the Caudwell Group was named the UK's fastest-growing company for two years in succession.
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