Mobile mania rings in the cash for phone mogul

Phones4U founder John Caudwell has topped the Vocational Rich List for four out of the last five years.

He has an estimated personal kitty of £1.6 billion (equivalent to around one sixth of the top 25 Rich Listers’ collective wealth).

Eager to get his business career on track, John quit his ‘A’ Levels after just one term for an engineering apprenticeship at the famous Michelin Tyre Company in 1970, eventually becoming a successful car dealer. However, he made his serious money by venturing into the then fledgling mobile phone industry in 1987, becoming the biggest independent player in Europe.

In 2004, John sold his Singlepoint customer billing firm to Vodafone for a measly £405m and in 2006 auctioned off his Caudwell Group for an extra £1.24 billion.

He’s since invested some of his windfall into a leisure company and with these proceeds and other assets he’s valued at roughly £1.6 billion. But now he’s sold the Caudwell Group will he still be in first place in 2008?

If you fancy engineering your way to a fortune like John, click here to find out more about engineering qualifications..

Alternatively, see who’s made it to second place on this year’s list here.