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Does wealth and success bring happiness?

Wed, 26/08/2009 - 11:00 — Mark Williams

Did anyone see the fascinating BBC 4 programme about Reading FC chairman Sir John Madejski last night (Rich Man, Poor Man – a Knight's Tale)? If not, you can view it on BBC iPlayer [http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00mbtgy/sign/Rich_Man_Poor_Man_A_Knights_Tale/], it's well worth a watch...

It certainly made me think whether entrepreneurial success, fame and great personal wealth does truly make you happy. Sir John is said to be worth more than £250m (source: Sunday Times Rich List). According to Wikipedia:

"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 founded Thames Valley Trader in 1976. Initially the magazine sold 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. By 1998, 52 titles were being published with a combined circulation of more than 700,000. In 1998 he sold his company Hurst Publishing for £174 million."

The programme followed Madejski over many months, and showed his reaction as the recession began to bite. Now owner of 18 companies, Sir John came out with an interesting piece of personal wisdom guided by his experiences: "Small company, small worries. Big company, big worries...".