David Gold - Business
Midlands Business
They say that 60 seconds is a long time in football, try telling that to David Gold. When Stan Laziridis rolled the ball agonisingly across the Preston North End goalmouth, his club, Birmingham City, were just one minute away from a Play-Off Final against Bolton Wanderers and the very real chance of going to the Premiership. What happened next will probably appear on BBCI's Question of Sport programme in the years to come, but for the likable Eastender it could, and time will ultimately dictate this, become one of his biggest regrets.
"I can still remember it so vividly, the sheer exuberance of nearly scoring and wrapping up our place at the Millennium Stadium, to a long ball downfield and a tap in from Mark Rankine," shrugged David.
As any football fan will recall, Birmingham City eventually lost on penalties and once again that dream of premiership football was consigned to the now growing pile entitled "Goals for Next Year'.
This is just one of the many events to have illuminated the colourful career of David Gold, Chairman of Gold Group International and the 82nd richest man in the UK, at the last time of counting that is.
It is fair to say, however, that life hasn't always been golf courses in the back garden, multi-million pound transfer deals and brushing shoulders with celebrities. Quite the reverse, because for everything he has achieved, and that could be anything from building his first wall at the age of 15 to securing the survival of Birmingham City Football Club, David has had to work extremely hard for it. A philosophy he learned at a very tender age.
"Growing up in the East End of London as part of single parent family was not the easiest introduction into life," he explained. "Times were tough and money was very scarce, which meant that everything we got we had to work tirelessly for... there were no hand-outs, it was as simple as that. In fact, both myself and my brother Ralph regularly got up at the crack of dawn to help out on our mom's stall, selling buttons to anyone who would have them."
David continued: "Looking back, this was a crucial grounding for myself and taught me ethics that I still use today when overseeing the running of the Gold Group International. Principles such as commitment, loyalty, dedication and a sense of appreciation, and by that I mean the ability to cherish things that are important to you."
"Growing up in the East End of London as part of single parent family was not the easiest introduction into life,"One such example is the close brotherly bond that he shares with Ralph, a bond that has seen them both become multimillionaires in their own right and led to David's first experience of owning his own business.
"The closest I got to an education was nearly sitting one O Level exam, a fact that I now regret when I am struggling to string together an after dinner speech or a simple letter. That was just how it happened, and, by the age of 15, I was on my way to becoming a qualified bricklayer.
"To be honest that was never going to be my vocation in life, I'm not cut out for cold weather and climbing ladders," he admitted with a smile. "Just as my training was coming to an end, my brother approached me with a business venture that focused on buying a bookshop in Charing Cross. Apparently, the guy he used to sell books to couldn't pay his bills, so we decided to buy the business from him and slowly began to turn the deficits into profits."
The first sign of the now legendary 'Golden' Touch.
"I'd like to say yes, but I will have to quote Lady Luck as the initial reason for our success. I'll explain; I was working a normal day from nine o'clock in the morning to six in the evening and getting nowhere. One night Ralph, who I usually met after work, called me to say he'd be late due to a puncture in his van. With nothing to do, I left the shop open and couldn't believe my eyes when the takings for that three hour period came to more than the last three days put together."
There we have it, from a small bookshop outside of a busy London Underground Station to Chairman of the Gold Group lnternational(comprising the famous Ann Summers and Knickerbox brands), Gold Air International and co-owner of the Sport Group of Newspapers. Quite an impressive CV you may think, an opinion that will no doubt be reinforced by the Sunday Times' Rich List, where David's £370m fortune leaves him in 82nd position.
"82nd? I've dropped three places, which will no doubt mean a phone call from my mom telling me to work harder."
