Robinson’s entrepreneurial activities have made him CEO of several companies including crowdfunding platform Wealth Creation, wealth education firm Wealth Revolution and loyalty business Create Demand.
Elsewhere, he has also launched The Naked Group in Malaysia. It started as the Naked Restaurant, but now includes Naked Pizza, Naked Coffee and Naked Beauty.
His newest endeavour, which will launch this summer, is 4th Base Cosmetics – a make-up company that will include direct sell and beauty salon supply.
But it has been real estate enterprise First Property Invest that has been Robinson’s most lucrative venture. The high-flying entrepreneur, who has his fingers in plenty of other pies too, spoke to us as part of our Business Class section, revealing how a man in his shoes lives.
(1) How much did your first job pay?
I earned £55 per week in a high end men’s clothes shop. Whilst I didn’t earn a lot, the experience was invaluable and gave me a taste for fine clothes.
(2) You have achieved business success with restaurants, crowdfunding and property – which area has been the most lucrative for you and why?
Property has been the most lucrative business for me. I have invested the most in this in regards to time and money in order to find the best strategy for investment. This research has resulted in each property attracting a great deal more profit than others on the market.
Over time, I have also built up a network of selling agents to sell my properties and have built my brand by offering people free property investment workshops all over the world in order to educate people how to achieve financial freedom.
I have now written two books, the first was a number one bestseller and my second, The Financial Freedom Guarantee, has just been released and is selling well.
(3) What has the industry taught you about money management?
It has taught me this basic principal – invest first and spend what you have left.
Most people are conditioned to spend first and save what they have left but by having the former as a default way of thinking, I have been able to get the best return on my money so I can grow my own personal wealth without having to rely on a salary.
(4) Tell us about your smartest investments
Buying below market value properties in the US, just after the subprime crisis in 2008 made me a lot of profit. Since then I have been buying in the US, and the least profit I have made from any American property is 80 per cent within a couple of years. I also purchased in Singapore in 2009 and doubled my money in literally six months.
This helped me venture into my own property development, and my latest acquisition is a 51 apartment block in Manchester. This was probably my smartest investment, as I sold all the apartments before I completed and paid for the property, netting me £1.6m in four months.
Read more about living the Business Class lifestyle:
- Ryanair glides into private jet space to cater to corporate high fliers
- The top eight territories where you can find the ultra-rich population
- The top premium menswear brands favoured by the world’s wealthy
(5) Do you get more satisfaction from spending or saving your money?
I get the most satisfaction when I have trusted myself and invested my own money into something that has given me a fantastic return. In terms of spending, yes I do enjoy it, but the most satisfaction in spending money is when you have made the effort to make the money to spend on whatever you love, instead of borrowing it on a credit card.
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(6) What are your most expensive hobbies?
I travel a lot, which is very expensive but I would say the most expensive hobby is financing my son’s F1 dream. His name is Ryker Saul Robinson, and he has been karting since he was six – he qualified third in the world championships last year and is well on the way to breaking through this hobby. His passion for racing costs me around £300,000 a year.
(7) Most prized possession?
My signed first edition book of “Think and Grow Rich” 1937 by Napoleon Hill, an item which I bid on at the Napoleon Hill event I was speaking at a few years ago for $2,000. The book to me is priceless because what I have learned from it.
(8) Do you have a favourite luxury brand?
Giorgio Armani, because his clothes fit so well on me. I also enjoy Ferrari, Rolls Royce and Hublot.
(9) Where has your most luxurious holiday take you?
The Playboy Mansion, Los Angeles, where I met Hugh Hefner and had the time of my life.
(10) Excluding property, what has been your most expensive purchase?
That would be my Ferrari 458.
For our previous Business Class profile we spoke with James Constantinou, the owner of a high end pawnbroker so prestigious it’s scaled Britain’s TV screens as a Channel 4 show.
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