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 most successful novelists in the world, writes YORK MEMBER. In 1979 he made great literary fame with the blockbuster Kane And Abel, and has since sold approximately 300 million books worldwide that have been translated into more than 40 languages.

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

The 84-year-old and his wife Mary have two sons 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-motor show in Weston-super-Mare by my mother Lola, a journalist on 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 one-penny piece and a sixpence piece.

Her nickname for me was ‘Tuppence’ – she always wrote about me in her newspaper column – and said it was because I always asked ‘what kind of tuppence do you have?’ at the candy store.

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

Have you ever struggled to make ends meet?

Yes, in 1974 I was almost bankrupt, at the age of 34, when I foolishly invested £200,000 of my own money and £200,000 that 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 £400,000 – the equivalent of a few million pounds today – in debt. So I sat down and

wrote my first novel, Not A Penny More, Not A Penny Less, which helped me pay off some of my debt.

Have you ever been given stupid money?

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

I didn’t really feel like flying all that way to give a speech, so I had my secretary say I would only go if they would fly me first class, put me up at the Bellagio Hotel and pay for a private helicopter flight. over the nearby mountains.

“Then they’ll be gone!” I thought. But 30 minutes later they called back and it was ‘tick, tick, tick’, so I had to give the speech.

What was the best year of your financial life?

Probably in 1978, when I got a £2 million advance, paid in three instalments, for my second novel, Kane And Abel.

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

The bidding war for the book lasted a week. It has since sold approximately 47 million copies, been read by 100 million people, and continues to be reprinted. I had no idea it would be such a success.

The most expensive thing you bought for fun?

A Picasso, which I treated myself to after As The Crow Flies came out in the early 1990s.

I buy a photo or sculpture to celebrate the publication of each book. I have been collecting for over 50 years and now have over 300 paintings and sculptures.

What has been your biggest money mistake?

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

Also, my investment in antique ‘brown furniture’ that I filled our Cambridgeshire home with does not seem to have been the best investment. I was recently told by an expert that it was worth about half of what I paid for it!

Best money decision you’ve made?

Ten years ago, he put £250,000 into leading theater impresario David Ian’s production of Grease and made a fortune.

However, investing in theater shows is a fickle affair: you lose money seven times out of ten.

I have invested £7.1 million in the theater over the last forty years and got back £7.2 million, which would not be considered a very good return.

Do you have a pension?

I’ve been paying into a private pension since my student days, so I’ve built up a nice pot that I can dip into when I finally retire as an author, even if I still have a few books left in me.

Do you have property?

I bought the Old Vicarage in the village of Grantchester, Cambridgeshire for £180,000 with my advance from Kane and Abel in 1978. I have no idea what it’s worth now – prices in the Cambridge area have gone crazy.

I also have a penthouse apartment in Vauxhall, which I bought from (former Formula 1 boss) Bernie Ecclestone about forty years ago, with stunning views over London, and a seaside villa in Mallorca that Mary and I visit 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 those wealth creators whose energy and dynamism create jobs.

Unfortunately, most people on the left do not appreciate the value of entrepreneurs 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 that, you have fulfilled your duty.

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