Page 363 - James Caan - The Real Deal

35 · My Life as a Dragon

‘I’ve tried to contact you but I’ve not been able to get through.
I’ve seen you on TV and I believe you’re the only person who can
make a difference to my business.’
I was stunned. For starters, I wasn’t used to being recognised in
the street, and I certainly wasn’t used to people walking hundreds
of miles to see me as if I was some kind of historical monument!
So I had a chat with him and took his business plan off him. I
actually understood why he had done it. It’s pretty difficult to get
my attention – I get hundreds of business plans a week –
but by waiting for me in person he made sure I looked at his plan.
I was impressed, but his business wasn’t for me and I didn’t invest.
It’s actually not just me who gets attention. I have a personalised
number plate and when my car’s parked outside my office it’s not
hard to guess who the car belongs to. People tap on the window
and ask my driver to pass on their business plan to me! I have been
amazed at the lengths fans of the show will go to to get my
attention. I was asked to take part in a charity auction for the
Evening Standard’s campaign to raise money to fight HIV in
Africa. Only for the first time they weren’t asking me to bid on
anything: they wanted me to be the prize! They thought offering
lunch with me would raise funds, so I said yes.
The auction started on a Monday and finished the following
Wednesday at noon. Of course I was curious to see what the
bidding was doing: I wanted to know what the public thought I
was worth. The opening bid was £500. I didn’t think that was
too shabby. Then my PA called to say someone had bid £1200.
That made me feel pretty good. On the Tuesday the bidding went
to £1800 and I couldn’t believe it. Who would want to have
lunch with me that much? By the Wednesday morning, it was
over four grand. Then it crept up to £5k. When the auction
finished, someone had paid £5800 to have lunch with me. I
found that quite scary: how could I possibly live up to their
expectations?

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