John Madejski
| Sir John Madejski | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Robert John Hurst 28 April 1941 Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England |
| Residence | Berkshire, England |
| Occupation | Company director, football club chairman |
Sir John Robert Madejski, OBE, DL (/məˈdeɪski/; born Robert John Hurst; 28 April 1941) is an English businessman, with commercial interests spanning property, broadcast media, hotels, restaurants, publishing and football. He changed his name when his stepfather, a Polish airman during World War II, returned to Britain to marry his mother.
Madejski is the founder of the magazine which became Auto Trader and chairman of Reading F.C., as well as Chancellor of the University of Reading and Deputy Lieutenant of Berkshire. He is a benefactor to many institutions, especially in academia, education and the arts. In the Sunday Times Rich List 2009 ranking of the wealthiest people in the UK he was placed 222nd with an estimated fortune of £250million.
Madejski was born Robert John Hurst on 28 April 1941, in Stoke-on-Trent, as a result of a wartime fling, being initially placed with a foster family. While still a baby, Hurst was moved back to his mother's home town of Reading and placed in a children's home. His mother later married a Polish Second World War airman, Zygmunt Madejski, with Hurst eventually coming to live with them and adopting his stepfather's surname of Madejski. (Hurst's biological father had started another family.)
While on holiday in Florida in the mid-1970s Madejski saw a car sales magazine that included pictures of the vehicles on sale. He immediately realised the potential of the idea and with the help of his business partners Paul Gibbons and Peter Taylor founded Thames Valley Trader in 1976. Initially the magazine advertised anything and everything, from houses to cars and even aircraft, but it soon concentrated solely on vehicles, and was renamed Auto Trader. Madejski partnered with the Guardian Media Group in 1982 to give the title national exposure.
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