Wealthiest people West Midlands: The richest man from Birmingham and his estimated net worth

Many iconic actors, musicians, and sportspeople call Birmingham or the West Midlands home. The region has also produced some of the wealthiest and most successful people. There is no dearth of amazing investions and entrepreneurs in the region.

The region is also home to some of the biggest tax payers with companies like Bet365, JCB, and Gymshark based here. There are multiple businesses spread far and wide in the West Midlands but did you know the richest man from Birmingham is the founder of a former mobile phone retail company?

Founder of now defunct Phones 4U, John Caudwell, 70, is the richest man from Birmingham. He was born in Birmingham but grew up in Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire.

Born on October 7, 1952 in Birmingham, he was entrepreneurial from a young age. As a child, he grew worms in a box under his mother’s bed to sell to fishermen. He would collect gift coupons from cigarette packets and would sell the goods he bought with them. He also sold motorcycle clothing, and his business was so successful that the manufacturer blocked his supply after complaints from competitors.

John Caudwell’s success story

John abandoned his A-levels and began an engineering apprenticeship at the Michelin Tyre factory in Stoke-on-Trent. He also searched for cars for customers if they asked for something he didn’t have in stock.

When he saw cars on auctions, he would phone a prospective customer to see if they were interested. However, the challenge was that there was one payphone and lots of car dealers.

By his 30s, he ran a car dealership in his hometown. According to his website, in the mid-1980s, he turned a communications problem into a business opportunity and founded his phone retail chain.

He founded the Caudwell Group, which included Phones 4U, the UK’s largest independent mobile phone retailer with over 600 stores across the country. He sold the Caudwell Group in 2006.

According to the Sunday Times Rich List, he is the 115th richest person in the UK and the 4th richest in the West Midlands. His net worth was estimated at £1.58bn in 2022.

His charity work

The entreprenuer has turned into an invester and makes his wealth from investing in fashion, real estate and other industries. He also chairs Caudwell Children, a children’s charity, and Caudwell LymeCo.

Caudwell is a signatory to the Giving Pledge, just like Bill Gates, Warren Buffett and 200 of the world’s wealthiest people, and is committed to giving at least 70% of his wealth to charitable causes during and after his lifetime.

He wants to be remembered for his charity work rather than his business success. He received the Noble Gift Philantropreneur Award in 2012 for charity work.

His personal life

Caudwell was married to his first wife Kate for 25 years. They split in 2001 and he has been with his current partner - Olympic cyclist Modesta Vzesniauskaite - since 2015.

He and Modesta have a 2-year-old child named William. He is expecting his seventh child in March 2023. He is a father to five more kids - Rebekah, 42, Libby, 34, Rufus, 25, Scarlett, 20, and Jacobi, 18 - from previous relationships.