Multi-millionaire businessman rates the luxuries really worth spending your money on – from private schools to flash cars and pre-nups- and how much most people need to be happy
A British businessman, who found himself rich beyond his wildest dreams after selling his own company in his 30s, has revealed exactly how much money he thinks people need to be happy…after experiencing the joys and pitfalls of extreme wealth first-hand.
Gary Ashworth, who was adopted into a working class family in Manchester as a boy, says a difficult start in life made him determined to succeed, so he could create ‘a nest for a family of his own’.
Over 40 years, the multi-millionaire CEO, investor and entrepreneur has started, scaled and sold more than 30 businesses.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, he recounts his own ‘made it moment’, after he sold the recruitment business he’d started as a 21-year-old for nearly £15million back in 1998.
By his early thirties, he had more money in the bank than he’d ever dreamed of – and quickly splashed the cash.
‘I was in Antibes in the South of France, having bought a Sunseeker superyacht and a Ferrari F355 Convertible – they were parked next to each other. It was all about champagne and the embossment on your business cards.’
Gary Ashworth first hit the big time as a young entrepreneur in his 30s…but says people often snap up designer goods and flashy cars simply to look good for others
However, his attitude to wealth has shifted significantly since. He freely admits that supercars and superyachts were a kick-back against his humble beginnings and the first step on a journey that taught him material wealth can be a vacuous affair – and there’s a very fine line between looking classy and looking cheap.
The eight-figure entrepreneur, 67, who recently became a dad again, to one-year-old daughter Clemmie with wife Pra, says decades of earning – and losing – spectacular amounts of money in business has left him in no doubt about what’s worth buying, and what’s simply a case of ‘the Emperor’s new clothes’.
He imparts much of his learned wisdom on social media via his Instagram account, offering withering appraisals on some of the trappings of wealth – from designer clothes, to expensive cars and holiday resorts – that people assume they must buy into.
Sending your children to private school though, he says, is a no-brainer, if you have the money – provided you don’t keep the bank of mum and dad going too long.
‘I think private schools offer a double whammy. Class sizes are smaller and you are paying for better education but I think the network is equally as important.
‘I’m not talking about Harrow and Eton – where entitlement abounds – I’m just talking about the mid-level private schools. People underestimate the power of the network and how people carry that through their lives.
The eight-figure entrepreneur says becoming a father again in his 60s has given him a fresh perspective on wealth (Pictured with his wife Pra and one-year-old Clemmie)
‘A lot of us are still friendly with the people we were hanging out with at school. You carry those friendships and those networks with you for decades.
He’s clear that an independent school education doesn’t mean you should fund your child for their adult life though.
‘You’ve got to wean the piglets from the teat! Let them stand on their own two feet, because if you spoil them, then they won’t be able to fend for themselves.’
He references a Chinese proverb about how a family can be ruined in three generations, saying: ‘The first generation makes the money, the second generation vaguely looks after it – but they’re entitled, and the third generation is so lazy, they blow it. It’s a self-correcting business model.’
He’s furious that social media has made people yearn for showier symbols of wealth, saying ‘Kim Kardashian has a lot to answer for’ – and wishes young people who are constantly fed images and reels of people purporting to have extreme wealth would see through them.
‘Most of the Lamborghinis are rented – sometimes you can still see the rental company sticker in the window, if you look carefully at their Instagram reel.
‘Humans have always fantasised and had things that we aspire to. It kind of keeps us going when times are hard but our phones and tablets are lying to us, and we are chasing ghosts because real life isn’t like that.
‘We feel as though we’re not making it because we don’t live the fancy life that we see on our screens. But we have to remember most of the time, it’s bulls**t.’
Despite his wealth, he soon got tired of supercars, saying: ‘They’re great fun, make you grin but they’re financial madness. 50 grand gone the moment you leave the showroom.’
Canniness is a skill that children should be taught early on, saying: ‘The rich got rich negotiating.’
For example, he advises those planning a big wedding to buy a ‘solid non-vintage’ champagne for their 200 guests, saying ‘nobody in the marquee is judging you on it’ and invest in a bottle of Krug ‘for the top table and for you after everyone has gone home’.
He’s also a fan of the rich and famous’ favourite wedding gift – the pre-nup, saying it’s sensible to protect your finances and setting one up ahead of your big day ensures the person you’re marrying is in love with you, not your wallet.
As an experiment, Ashworth, whose main home is in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, asked 50 people – from ‘the guy who cuts my hedge to billionaires’, how much they thought they needed to be happy.
Most people want ‘just a little bit more than they have’, says Ashworth
The 67-year-old said he was surprised that many of them said: ‘oh, a little bit more than I’ve got now.’
‘If you think about that, it means most of us will never be happy. There are reasons why we constantly move the goalposts – family might come along, or you might have a parent who needs healthcare but generally speaking, I urge people to think of a number and try and stick to it.’
He says: ‘When people make a bit of money, they start thinking about what they can buy – the watch, shoes, handbags, cars. I think you probably need to kind of go through the “possessions” thing and out the other side.
‘Then you realise that time with people you love and a peaceful, comfortable life is actually the top of the pyramid.’
He reflects on his own financial journey and wants to share what he’s learned with others. His book, an Amazon bestseller, is called Double up: Money Mastery and focuses on getting rich slowly, to secure financial security for life.
It’s a far cry from his own days posing up in the South of France.
‘I think I made a lot of those mistakes around showing off, as a lot of people did. Growing up in the 80s, it was all about champagne and the embossment on your business cards.
‘I think I’ve come out of the other side, and now, as an older dad, I’ve realised what’s really important in life.’
