Page 298 - James Caan - The Real Deal

Chapter 30

Private Equity

(2003–2004)

‘ I had found the thrill I had been looking for in planes and

helicopters and fast cars in an idea for a business. ’

magine you won the lottery. Say you won £10 million. What
I would you do with the money? Most people would probably
buy themselves a nice house with half of it. Then they might buy
a holiday home somewhere hot for half a million. Then another
million or so gets spent on toys – a couple of nice cars and maybe
the trip of a lifetime – before putting the balance into invest-
ments that should fund a decent lifestyle for the rest of their lives.
After that, what do you need? What can you possibly spend money
on that would change anything? Now let’s say you won £20
million – doesn’t that just mean a nicer or a bigger house and a
few more toys and slightly flashier holidays? Sure, the extra £10
million is nice, but it doesn’t change anything. In the scheme of
things, once you get beyond £10 million, the impact of increased
wealth diminishes.
Now imagine that you didn’t win that money. Imagine that you
earned it. I promise you, you’re going to be a lot less frivolous with

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