As one of the richest men in Britain, John Caudwell possesses a £2 billion fortune and all the grown-up toys that go with it: two vast mansions, a yacht, a helicopter and a fleet of luxury cars.
John Caudwell with his partner of 15 years Claire Johnson. The Phones 4U founder has revealed that the couple has decided to separate
John Caudwell with his partner of 15 years Claire Johnson.
His home in Staffordshire is a £10 million Jacobean affair, and the one in London is an £85 million ‘super mansion’ that once belonged to a playboy member of the Brunei ruling family. According to DailyMail, the man, John Caudwell, once known as the Mobile Phone King, and founder of Phones 4U, is the first to admit he enjoys his wealth.
‘My favourite thing is to come down to London from my home in Staffordshire in the helicopter and then get my bike out of the back and cycle into London. It’s wonderful.’
It is a lifestyle that naturally engenders envy — until you discover that all is not as it seems behind the gilded doors of those opulent homes.
Mr Caudwell's £10million Jacobean country retreat manor house in Staffordshire
Mr Caudwell's £10million Jacobean country retreat manor house in Staffordshire
Recently it emerged that Caudwell’s eldest son Rufus, 19, his youngest child by ex-wife Kathryn McFarlane, suffers severe agoraphobia - extreme or irrational fear of crowded spaces or enclosed public places. The affliction is so bad that the boy with the world at his feet spends most of his days confined to his bedroom, unable to leave the house.
This week, meanwhile, Caudwell revealed that he and his partner of 15 years, Claire Johnson, have taken the reluctant decision to separate, leaving them both ‘desperately worried’ about the impact on the son they have together, ten-year-old Jacobi.
‘We have been growing apart for some time, but it has taken many agonising conversations to get to the point where we have been forced to acknowledge it would be better for us to be separate rather than together. Jacobi has been at the forefront of our minds through all of it, and of course we’re worried. All we can do is reassure him that he has two parents who love him very much and who will do everything in their power to be there for him.’
Mr Caudwell's son Rufus suffers from anxiety and panic attacks due to severe agoraphobia. The affliction is so bad he is sometimes unable to leave his bedroom
With son Rufus
Still, it is far from an ideal situation — especially given the plight of Rufus, by all accounts a gentle soul who has been so crippled by agoraphobia for the past eight years that he has had periods of being unable to leave his room for days on end.
‘It’s heartbreaking,’ says John, speaking about the situation for the first time. ‘We have had eight-and-a-half years of watching Rufus struggle with this thing and trying to make the best of it. He is a lovely, gifted boy and it’s so very sad to see what he is going through. He is surrounded by a lot of love, but love can’t solve the problem. If only it could.’
The £85million Mayfair mansion owned by Mr Caudwell, which until last year belonged to Prince Jefri, the brother of the Sultan of Brunei
Nor, indeed can Caudwell’s many millions.
‘I would be the first to say that while a lack of money can cause misery, money doesn’t buy you happiness,’ he adds quietly. ‘When it comes to something like this, money doesn’t come into it. It can give you access to different people and help, but it doesn’t change the helplessness you feel when you see your own flesh and blood struggling. The only really important thing, at the end of the day, is your health. If you haven’t got that, then all the money in the world isn’t going to bring you happiness.’
Caudwell still shaves his own head and beard with a pair of clippers, rarely spends more than £30 on a bottle of wine and would far rather cycle than take a taxi. Caudwell says that as well as giving half his business profits to charity during his lifetime, the vast bulk of his wealth will also be donated in his will.
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