John Caudwell is a successful entrepreneur and a philanthropist.
As an entrepreneur, John built an immensely successful mobile telecoms company, which, over the course of around 20 years, he grew to be one of the most successful businesses in Britain. The visible legacy is the high street retailer Phones 4u, which was the face of a business which extended into airtime, distribution, technical support, insurance, and fixed-wire telephony. John exited the business in 2006.
A less visible aspect of John’s life is his charitable and philanthropic drive. John founded what is now one of Europe’s most efficient children’s support charities – Caudwell Children – an organisation which, through energy, efficiency and creativity converts every £1 donated to it into more than £2 of benefit for desperately ill or disabled children and their families.
John’s philanthropic commitments are to make previously invisible plights or challenges highly visible. He has contributed millions of pounds to support and help bring to the fore causes as varied as the work of the Elton John Aids Foundation, The Prince’s Regeneration Trust and London’s Bomber Command Memorial.
