Business Forum Please click here

Business Focus >>

The new manufacturers The new manufacturers

A great British renaissance has been taking place. From Aberdeen to the West Country, the zing is back in manufacturing. It’s about time this spectacular story was told.

  • hot
  • hot
1 comment

Sex, drugs, rock’n’roll… and semiconductors


Your email address:   
Friend's email address:   
   

by Rebecca Burn-Callander - Monday, 16th June 2008

Sex, drugs, rock’n’roll… and semiconductors

This is the page

When it comes to “good boy, gone bad” stories, this is the money shot. Henry Nicholas III, a 6ft 6" hot-shot entrepreneur with an MENSA IQ and a work ethic to make Alan Sugar cry, has been outed for his copious cocaine abuse, sex caves and penchant for rock.
 
The New York Post describes the “chiseled” Nicholas as a classic “comic book hero”. Au contraire. With his remote controlled hidden staircases, arcane Medusa statue and canisters of laughing gas, he’s more like a conglomeration of Batman’s nemeses.
 
The secret life of the 48-year-old Broadcom founder, reportedly worth some $2bn, has been brought to light as a result of an ongoing court case, filed by disgruntled ex-employees seeking back pay.
 
Talk about opening a can of worms. The tribuneral unveiled a catalogue of wrongdoings. From spiking execs' drinks with ecstasy and making death threats to terrified underlings, to the aforementioned “sex cave”, otherwise known as “The Ponderosa” or simply “The Pond”, Nicholas has been a very naughty boy indeed. And an unremorseful one at that. Charged with hiring prostitutes for clients, he quipped to The Orange County Register, “We started out as Broads.com, but there was a typo.”
 
Nicholas was bagged and electronically-tagged in April with a $3.3m bail on his head. He’s spent the past few months cleaning up at an exclusive rehab centre in Malibu. How the mighty have fallen.
 
For all you super-fly entrepreneurs this side of the pond, let this be a lesson to you: it’s not “stay away from drink and drugs”, nor is it “don’t build a sex palace underneath your marital home”. Nay, it is this: "always, but ALWAYS, pay your employees what they’re owed". Hell hath no fury like a staff member screwed.
 
Picture source

Tags: pay, sex caves, employees, comic book hero, cocaine abuse, new york post, work ethic, alan sugar, led zeppelin, sex palace, henry nicholas, staircases, broadcom,

1 Comments

August 16, 2008 7:54pm
Peter Cook Says:

No doubt readers of this article will be interested in my book 'Sex, Leadership and Rock'n'Roll' - available to look inside at AMAZON. atb Peter Cook

Close X

Leave a comment


Name:
Email:
Comment:
  I have read and understand the terms and conditions
 

Please click the post button only once - your comment will not be published immediately

BUSINESS NEWS >>

BNP controversy: what does it mean for you?

By Catherine Woods - November 19, 2008 4:16pm GMT

Two alleged members of the BNP have been axed from their jobs after a list containing the names of the party faithful appeared on the internet.

Cowdery to float Resolution

By Catherine Woods - November 19, 2008 3:37pm GMT

Insurance entrepreneur Clive Cowdery is making plans to float his company, Resolution, next month.

US market is the key for tech success

By Catherine Woods - November 19, 2008 3:22pm GMT

UK technology companies should be more aggressive in the US if they want to emulate the success of their State-side cousins, says one of Britain’s leading tech entrepreneurs.

“What’s in Great Britain’s shop window?” asks Dragon

By Rebecca Burn-Callander - November 19, 2008 2:36pm GMT

James Caan has lambasted the UK for its lack of a unified brand. “You want manufacturing, you go to China. What does Britain do?” he asked attendees at a T-Mobile roundtable discussion.

ASOS cashes in on the young pound

By Charlotte Burn-Callander - November 18, 2008 3:49pm GMT

On-line fashion retailer ASOS reported an impressive 68 per cent increase in pre-tax profits to £4.1m. Bucking the downward trend on the high street, its sales in the first half of the year have more than doubled to £67.5m.


BUSINESS COMMENT >>

Global Entrepreneurship Week begins...

By Matthew Rock - November 17, 2008 9:50am GMT

And, boy, do we need it...

Hold onto your sides: it's the Friday funnies

By Rebecca Burn-Callander - November 14, 2008 3:44pm GMT

Take five and have a little chuckle at the best business humour around.

The entrepreneur's Shakespeare

By Kate Pritchard - November 14, 2008 3:09pm GMT

We're happy for you to vent your grumbles and groans about the economic downturn on our website. So when Nick Redford, managing director of recording studio Unit58, sent us a poem about the credit crunch, we couldn’t resist sharing it with the rest of you.

Can you bottle entrepreneurial spirit?

By Rebecca Burn-Callander - November 13, 2008 3:39pm GMT

The scientists say we can. But who wants to pop “risk pills”?

The Last Millionaire explodes onto our screens

By Rebecca Burn-Callander - November 13, 2008 12:16pm GMT

It’s a familiar format: a gaggle of businesspeople are thrown together to meet a series of challenges. But the entrepreneurs on this show have already made their millions. They’re being forced to start from scratch with no money and no help in unfamiliar territory. RB’s already hooked.


Click here to sign up for the Real Business newsletter
Real Business Front Cover