TV presenter Chris Tarrant says investing in stocks and shares was the best financial decision he has ever made.
Tarrant, who used to be able to command fees of £250,000 a day while he was presenting Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, is in no doubt that stocks and shares outperform property as a good long term investment.
But the most important lesson he has learned about money is that freedom and health are more important.
TV presenter Chris Tarrant says investing in stocks and shares was the best financial decision he has ever made
The 73-year-old suffered a stroke four years ago but is returning to TV screens tonight to present a documentary about the railways of the Holocaust on Channel 5. He lives in a nine-bedroom home with long-term girlfriend Jane in Berkshire with 40 acres of land. Hitler"s Holocaust Railways with Chris Tarrant airs at 9pm tonight on Channel 5.
What did your parents teach you about money?
To save. My parents always lived within their means and saved for what they wanted to buy – they were of that generation. My father was the marketing director of a biscuit manufacturer in Berkshire. It meant that every Friday he brought home huge bags of broken biscuits that could not be sold.
My mother stayed at home. She shined my father"s shoes, ironed his shirts and cooked his meals. That was just how things were back then. They were not poor but they had no spare money. They saved every penny to send me to private school when I was 13.
How much pocket money did you get as a child?
Five or six a shilling a week. I spent it on bullseyes, wagon wheels and anything to do with cowboys.
What was the first paid work you ever did?
Stacking books on the conveyor belt of a book factory in Reading when I was 16. It was awful, I hated it. I kept getting shouted at by these terrifying older women. I had never heard women using that kind of language before. I think I got paid about £23 a week.
Tarrant said in 2000, when he was presenting Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, he got paid £250k to spend one day doing a commercial
Have you ever been paid silly money?
Yes. In 2000 when I was presenting Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? I got paid £250,000 to spend one day doing a commercial. I put the money towards a property.
Have you ever struggled to make ends meet?
Not really. When I was at university in Birmingham, I used to spend half my grant betting on horse racing. Seven terms out of nine, I made a profit. The other two terms, I lived on beer. After I graduated, I worked as an English supply teacher at quite a rough school in New Cross, which is not the nicest area of London. I do remember money being tight.
I even went to live in a minivan one winter term. I parked it outside the school and was always the first teacher there in the morning. The headmaster thought I was really keen. I went down the pub most nights and did my marking there. Come to think of it, I would often see the headmaster there too.
What Is the biggest lesson you learned about money?
I have always thought that what matters most in life is freedom and health, not money. My father fought at Dunkirk and I have just made a film about the railways of the Holocaust for Channel Five. Investigating how thousands of trains involved in the war were also used to deport millions to ghettos and death camps has really brought that lesson home to me.
Seeing the horrors of the concentration camps and learning about the horrors of the ghettos – it makes you realise that what you need in life is your health and the people you love. Earning money, although handy, is really not that important.
What was the best year of your financial life?
Throughout 1999 I was doing the Capital Radio Breakfast Show in the mornings as well as Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? I worked 20 hours a day and made a lot of money. Well over £1million.
Tarrant says his father was the marketing director of a biscuit manufacturer in Berkshire and it meant that every Friday he brought home huge bags of broken biscuits that could not be sold
What is the most expensive thing you bought for fun?
A 41-foot motor cruiser. It sleeps six. I do not want to say how much it cost but it was a lot. The kids and I love escaping down the Thames in it but it has spent a lot of time hanging upside down off a crane being mended.
What is your biggest money mistake?
Buying that boat.
What is the best money decision you have made?
Investing in stocks and shares. I used to go salmon fishing with the late Jim Slater, the renowned investor, and he would give me tips. He told me to buy shares in football clubs, so I invested in Manchester United before its shares went through the roof. There is no question in my mind that stocks and shares in the end outperform everything else including property.
Do you save into a pension?
Not any more because my pension is now close to the lifetime allowance of just over £1million. I started saving into it as soon as I got my first proper job in television when I was about 28.
Do you own any property?
Yes, I own two, a mews house in London"s Marylebone and a nine-bedroom 17th Century cottage in the middle of Berkshire with 40 acres of land.
What little luxury do you treat yourself to?
Fishing tackle. I love buying new fishing rods – I probably spend £200 to £300 on a new rod three or four times a year. I would go fishing every minute of every day if I could.
If you were Chancellor what would you do?
I would abolish inheritance tax. I think it is unfair and it is still far too expensive to pass on property to your kids. I would also reduce overseas aid. We are wasting lots of money abroad. Could we look after Britain first please? I would invest everything I could into the NHS – but I would make sure it is correctly apportioned. At the moment a lot of the money does not seem to filter down to the doctors and nurses. It seems to get caught up in a middle layer of bureaucracy.
What is your number one financial priority?
Looking after people I love and making sure they are OK.
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