CEO Secrets: from Ordsall Poverty to being A Billionaire
CEO Secrets: From Ordsall poverty to being a billionaire
24 November 2021
ByDougal Shaw
Business reporter, BBC News
Peter Done discusses his journey from a denied youth in Salford in the north of England, to ending up being a self-made billionaire, for our business suggestions series CEO Secrets. He co-founded the wagering chain Betfred with his bro Fred Done in the late 1960s, before taking the helm of HR firm Peninsula, which he runs today in Manchester.
Peter Done has an abiding memory from his childhood: a pillow being pushed in his face.
The perpetrator was Fred, his elder brother by four years. He shared a bed with him until he was 15 in the household's two-up, two-down in Ordsall, referred to as the "slums of Salford". Their 2 sisters slept in the space too.
"To this day I have claustrophobia from the pillow," chuckles Done junior. "I was most likely a bit saucy and he was larger than me."
But it was the successful relationship with his brother that would be the key to his success in life. The siblings found a route out of poverty by developing an empire of wagering stores, collecting themselves a billion-pound household fortune, making them a regular component on the Sunday Times Rich List, external.
Both Done siblings left school at 15 with no certifications.
However, they found employment in a chain of wagering shops in Manchester. Like pubs, these facilities prospered in poor areas. They had actually just been legalised in the UK in 1961. There had actually been issues about their social impact, as well as the really morality of betting.
Done was managing a betting store at 17 even though he legally could not enter the facilities.
The owner valued him for his skill at maths. He took care of the books, mentally number crunching the stakes, revenues and losses.
CEO Secrets: From Ordsall poverty to being a billionaire
24 November 2021
ByDougal Shaw
Business reporter, BBC News
Peter Done discusses his journey from a denied youth in Salford in the north of England, to ending up being a self-made billionaire, for our business suggestions series CEO Secrets. He co-founded the wagering chain Betfred with his bro Fred Done in the late 1960s, before taking the helm of HR firm Peninsula, which he runs today in Manchester.
Peter Done has an abiding memory from his childhood: a pillow being pushed in his face.
The perpetrator was Fred, his elder brother by four years. He shared a bed with him until he was 15 in the household's two-up, two-down in Ordsall, referred to as the "slums of Salford". Their 2 sisters slept in the space too.
"To this day I have claustrophobia from the pillow," chuckles Done junior. "I was most likely a bit saucy and he was larger than me."
But it was the successful relationship with his brother that would be the key to his success in life. The siblings found a route out of poverty by developing an empire of wagering stores, collecting themselves a billion-pound household fortune, making them a regular component on the Sunday Times Rich List, external.
Both Done siblings left school at 15 with no certifications.
However, they found employment in a chain of wagering shops in Manchester. Like pubs, these facilities prospered in poor areas. They had actually just been legalised in the UK in 1961. There had actually been issues about their social impact, as well as the really morality of betting.
Done was managing a betting store at 17 even though he legally could not enter the facilities.
The owner valued him for his skill at maths. He took care of the books, mentally number crunching the stakes, revenues and losses.