I used to scavenge for food – now I get paid £10k an hour says Dragon’s Den star
DRAGON’S Den star Steven Bartlett admitted that he used to practically scavenge for food.
The media personality and the host of the famous The Diary Of A CEO podcast revealed his financial struggles.
Although he dropped out of university at the age of 18, by his early twenties he turned his life around.
Steven, 30, is best known as the youngest ever Dragons’ Den investor and in his book Happy Sexy Millionaire, he made a surprising revelation.
He previously revealed that his minimum fee for event bookings is “somewhere in the region of £10,000-£20,000 per hour”.
But life was not always easy for the TV personality, and he used to shoplift pizzas and scavenge for leftover food in in takeaway shops.
When asked if he’s ever struggled financially, he told the i Newspaper: “I left home at 18 to go to university, then dropped out and worked in one call centre after another.
“Over a two year period, I probably worked in six or seven call centres in Manchester.
“I’d quit or get fired, because I was distracted with building my businesses, so I was in and out of work.
“I lived anywhere I could get cheap rent. I’d be above a Chinese takeaway, then I’d stay somewhere else for two weeks.
“I’d pay almost nothing, but even when it was £150 a month, I’d sometimes have to ask my dad to help me pay the rent.”
He even admitted that things got so bad, he considered going on the dole.
“At my lowest, I looked into Jobseeker’s Allowance,” Bartlett admitted.
“I never went through with that, but I remember printing out the form.
“I had three or four credit cards and I didn’t understand the concept that you have to pay those things back.”
He added: “I think I got two CCJs [County Court Judgments] for not paying various things back.”
but things were difficult for him living with his siblings growing up, and he admitted he would often be embarrassed to bring friends round to his childhood home.
He revealed: “We were pretty hard-up and I watched my parents struggle with money for the majority of my childhood.”
“My mum started various businesses including salons and shops, and I have memories of bailiffs coming and refusing to leave.”
“Things were OK until I was about 10, then they deteriorated and my parents spent maybe seven years teetering on the verge of bankruptcy.
“There were no more Christmas or birthday presents, and we never went on holiday on a plane.
“My brother Jason smashed his own bedroom window, kicking a football, and it remained smashed for at least five years.
“The back garden was full of fridges. People dumped them there, because it looked like a dumping ground.
“The garden grew over these objects and became really tall to the point where we wouldn’t go into the back garden anymore.”
“It was embarrassing, so I didn’t invite my friends there.”