Richard Desmond – Woolworths cashier, cloakroom ticket seller, adman, publisher of OK! and Penthouse, owner of Channel 5 and Express Newspapers, friend of Barbara Windsor and probable descendant of Genghis Khan – defies the Shakespearean adage that some men are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them. In his own study on greatness, "Britain's most controversial media mogul" Desmond reveals that he was born great (son to Cyril, "of Pearl & Dean, a media person and a man of the world"), achieved his own greatness ("focus and determination"), AND had his greatness thrust upon him (at the age of 15, when he was made classified manager at In-Plant Printer).
In 2014, Desmond reached his personal zenith, selling Channel 5 for £463m (€646m), four times what he paid for it four years previously. Afterwards he met a man named Gavin Patterson from BT. "Do you realise what a great strategist and marketer you are?" Patterson asked our hero. "No," Desmond replied ("I wasn't being modest," he adds, in an aside to the reader, "I really don't see myself in that light. I just get things done, one after another.")
The Real Deal is a minutely detailed record of all the things Desmond has got done, one after another, punctuated with solemn regularity by the observation that he could have been a professional drummer, inset, had he chosen. But it's not all roses. The billionaire has a single, consuming fear – of dying penniless on a park bench. That's why no matter how rich he gets, Desmond measures each accruement against his first daily wage at Woolworths (£1 3s 6d).
In Easter 2005, Desmond is lying on a gurney about to undergo an operation. The voice in his head speaks: "Do you like your office overlooking the Thames?" it asks. "Well, yes, I would say it's the best office in London," replies Desmond, deep in existential crisis. "Well, you'd better decide whether all your material advancements are really the most important things in life," the voice says. Desmond recognises that he is "about to face the toughest choice of a career which has had its share of tough choices".
Unfortunately, he then falls unconscious. When he wakes it is instead to muse that his Ukrainian heritage may point to a blood relationship with Genghis Khan. The moment for self-examination has passed, but the shadow of the park bench looms larger.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.
