Veteran broadcaster Paul Gambaccini talks to ME & MY MONEY

Radio and TV presenter Paul Gambaccini has been a well-known figure on TV and radio since joining the BBC in the early 1970s. But his first job was as a paperboy, which is how he financed his comic book habit.

The Great Gambo tells Dan Moore that he has received all sorts of personal gifts over the years, including a set of bedding from Sir Paul McCartney.

The veteran announcer, 73, lives with husband Christopher Sherwood near London’s South Bank and has an apartment in New York.

What did your parents teach you about money?

They didn’t teach me about money. But a school friend named Nancy said her father never bought anything he couldn’t afford and never went into debt because he had lived through the Depression and seen how much suffering it caused. I never forgot that. When you get to my age, you’ve experienced economic ups and downs. They are often beyond your control, and it’s best not to be in debt when one of these surprise dips happens. So, thank you, Nancy.

What was your first job?

I was a paperboy in Connecticut. Most of my clients lived in a trailer park, but some lived in posh homes in the suburbs. The biggest tippers were the people in the caravans. They had no money, so they shared what they had. That was their ethics.

Going the newspaper route helped fund my comic book habit. It was during the time when most of the superheroes that populate the movies today were invented. I was fanatical about these characters and wrote so many letters to the editor that they introduced a character named after me. This was Paul Gambi, tailor to the DC supervillains. The most recent appearance I’ve seen of him was in the latest Batman movie.

Have you ever been paid stupid money?

I once did a corn chip commercial for American television and I got paid $12,000 for ten minutes, which wasn’t bad.

Have you ever received a gift from a celebrity you cherish?

I’ve gotten nice, personal gifts, but none were as extravagant as the ones that went out after the Beatles album Sgt Pepper was released and albums started selling in eight figures and the money started pouring in. horses, that sort of thing. Well, I didn’t get a racehorse – and I didn’t want a racehorse either. But I was glad to get a set of sheets from Paul McCartney for my wedding in 2012.

What was the best year of your financial life?

For some reason it was 2008, but I’m not sure why that was because nothing stands out. Once my career took off, I always made sure I had three balls in the air so that if one job went down, I would still make enough to get by. So I would have Radio 1, 2 or 4 plus television, Classic FM and writing books.

What’s the most expensive thing you’ve bought for fun?

A publisher’s set of the original Mad comics. They belonged to William Gaines, of EC Comics, and he kept a dozen issues of every comic he ever published. When he was old he sold them and I bought a set of the original 23 issues of Mad for $40,000.

I have now sold them for a profit. Once I had them for a few years, there was nothing I could do but sell them or eat them.

They are too valuable to read, and anyway, the joy of collecting is greater than the joy of owning.

Mad Price: Gambaccini bought a set of Mad comics for $40,000

What have been your best and worst money decisions?

I’ve never been interested in stocks and bonds. So I’m blessed to have avoided catastrophic money decisions. My best was to invest in real estate. I bought my first one in 1979 and sold my last one last year for three times what I paid for it in 2000. I also have a flat in New York, so I can catch up with my family.

I mentioned the DC comics. Well, many of the early issues my letters appear in are now worth thousands of dollars, though not because of my letters! But my collection has gained a lot in value.

I’ve been collecting since I was 11 years old, when I hadn’t thought about value, so collecting comic books has been a good decision.

What is the little luxury you treat yourself with?

I’m doing a crossword puzzle, from The New York Times or New Yorker. Unfortunately I just don’t have enough time to do both in one day.

Do you donate money to charity?

Yes, I have been involved with several charities throughout my career.

I helped raise several hundred thousand pounds for Amnesty International by putting together an artist roster for a show at the London Palladium.

The line-up also included Kate Bush and David Gilmour who sang Running Up That Hill, a clip of which recently went viral on YouTube.

To live in your time, you have to respond to your time, and in my time that was AIDS. So I became an early patron of the Terrence Higgins Trust, and I’ve been involved ever since.

What is your first financial priority?

Not to be morbid, but I wanted to make sure I could take care of my husband and relatives, which I was able to do.