I invested £7.1m in theater shows and only got £7.2m back: novelist JEFFREY ARCHER tells his financial story

Jeffrey Archer is one of the world’s most successful novelists, writes MEMBER FOR YORK. In 1979 he achieved great literary success with the box office hit Kane. And Abel, and has since sold around 300 million books worldwide that have been translated into more than 40 languages.

He was a Conservative MP from 1969 to 1974 and later served as vice-president of the party, but was sentenced to four years in prison for perjury and perverting the course of justice in 2001.

The 84-year-old and his wife Mary have two children and five grandchildren and divide their time between homes in Cambridgeshire, London and Mallorca.

What did your parents teach you about money?

I was raised as an only child in a semi in Weston-super-Mare by my mother Lola, a journalist for the Weston Mercury, and my father, William, who died when I was 16.

We were very poor and I remember my mother explaining to me the difference between a threepence and a sixpence.

His nickname for me was ‘Tuppence’ (he used to write about me in his newspaper column) and he said it was because I always asked him ‘what do you have for tuppence?’ in the confectionery.

My mother was also a local councilor and often did more than one job to make ends meet, although at the time I didn’t realize how difficult life was for her.

Have you ever struggled to make ends meet?

Yes, in 1974 I was on the verge of bankruptcy, at the age of 34, when I foolishly invested £200,000 of my own money and £200,000 I had borrowed in a Canadian company called Aquablast, which turned out to be fraudulent, on the advice of an American bank.

I ended up with a debt of £400,000 (the equivalent of a couple of million pounds today). So I sat down and

I wrote my first novel, Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less, which to some extent helped pay off my debts.

Have you ever been paid silly money?

I was once paid £100,000 in the 1990s to give a speech at the Hilton Hotels Annual General Meeting in Las Vegas.

I didn’t really want to fly there to give a speech, so I asked my secretary to tell me that I would only go if they flew me first class, put me up at the Bellagio Hotel, and paid for a private helicopter ride. over the nearby mountains.

That will eliminate them! I thought. But 30 minutes later they called again and it was “tick, tick, tick,” so I had to go and give the speech.

What was the best year of your financial life?

Probably in 1978, when I received an advance of two million pounds, paid in three installments, for my second novel, Kane and Abel.

At the time I was living with my wife Mary in a flat provided by Trinity College, Cambridge, where she taught.

The bidding war for the book lasted a week. Since then, it has sold around 47 million copies, been read by 100 million people, and is still being reprinted. I had no idea it would be such a success.

Most expensive thing you bought for fun?

A Picasso, which I gave myself after As the Crow Flies came out in the early nineties.

I buy a painting or sculpture to celebrate the publication of each book; I have been a collector for more than 50 years and now have more than 300 paintings and sculptures.

What has been your biggest money mistake?

Investing in a major West End musical that was perceived by the world as a huge success but cost me £500,000; I was one of the many investors who lost out.

Furthermore, my investment in antique “brown furniture” with which I have filled our Cambridgeshire house does not seem to have been the best of investments. The other day an expert told me it was worth about half of what I paid for it.

Best money decision you’ve ever made?

Invest £250,000 in distinguished theater impresario David Ian’s production of Grease ten years ago and make a fortune.

However, investing in theater shows is a matter of ups and downs: you lose money seven times out of ten.

In fact, I have invested £7.1 million in the theater over the last 40 years and have made £7.2 million back, which wouldn’t be considered a very good return.

Do you have a pension?

I’ve been paying into a private pension since my university days, so I’ve built up a nice fund that I can dip into when I finally retire as an author, although I still have a few books left.

Do you have any property?

I bought Old Vicarage in the Cambridgeshire village of Grantchester for £180,000 with my advance from Kane and Abel in 1978. I have no idea how much it is worth now – prices in the Cambridge area have skyrocketed.

I also have a penthouse in Vauxhall, which I bought from (former Formula 1 boss) Bernie Ecclestone about 40 years ago, with wonderful views of London, and a seaside villa in Mallorca that Mary and I visited in the winter.

If you were Chancellor, what would you do?

I would abolish the inheritance tax. I would also urge Rachel Reeves not to tax wealth creators who, through their energy and dynamism, create jobs.

Unfortunately, most leftists do not appreciate the value of business owners and all they do for the country.

What is your number one financial priority?

To take care of the education of my five grandchildren. The most important thing you can do is give a child a good education; Once you have done so, you have done your duty.

An Eye For An Eye by Jeffrey Archer is published in hardback by HarperCollins and is priced £22 (jeffreyarcher.com).