Multi-millionaire runs property empire - but lets wife dress him every day
A multi-millionaire property mogul who shuns designer brands for more modest Sports Direct attire has admitted his wife dresses him every day and even packs his holiday suitcase.
Samuel Leeds, who made his fortune after growing up on a council estate in Walsall in the West Midlands, claims he has zero interest in big-name labels because he "isn't trying to impress anybody" and is unable to tell the difference between tops that cost £12 and £1,000 anyway.
The 32-year old says it "easier" to allow his wife, Amanda, 31, to choose his outfits as she is "extremely fashionable". Samuel jokes that he opts for shoes without laces in order to save time, and he refuses to fill up his car with fuel, was the dishes or take the bins out as the chores are a "distraction" from making more cash.
Rather than rely on his spouse to carry out those "mundane" tasks, however, he employs a personal assistant, a cleaner and a full-time live-in nanny to ensure he has as much time as possible to focus on his portfolio, which includes the impressive Ribblesford House castle.
Samuel Leeds has an extensive property portfolio (Kennedy News/samuelleedsofficial)Samuel, from Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, explains: "My wife decides what I wear and eat. I'll wake up in the morning, have a shower and then when I go to get dressed whatever I'm wearing that day will be put out for me. It's usually a similar kind of stuff, I like standard polo shirts, it just means I don't think about it.
"My wife's extremely fashionable, she always looks great, she has a better eye than I have. It's easier for her - rather than for her to tell me 'you can't wear that and that, go get changed' she just sorts my clothes out. I'm just resigned to it. If I'm going on holiday my wife will pack a small suitcase with some very basic clothes and toiletries but I don't look in the suitcase to check it's all good."
He continued: "I've never opened my suitcase and thought 'I don't want to wear this' I just wear whatever's there'. Then my food is the same story, I just eat what I'm given. The clothes I wear are generally from Next and Sports Direct, I just don't spend money on clothes.
"I don't even tie my own shoelaces - I don't get someone to do it for me, I just don't wear shoelaces. My wife is a little bit different, she likes to spend money on clothes, that's her prerogative. But jewellery, watches, clothes it just doesn't interest me in the slightest. For a start I'm not trying to impress anybody. I'm not trying to look rich or successful, I'm trying to be successful.
"I can't tell the difference between a top that's £12 and a top that's £1,000 so if I can't tell the difference I can't justify spending the money on it. I think sometimes my wife would like me to wear slightly more expensive clothes. On holiday she wants to go to Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Gucci. She'll go for herself and then she says 'go to the men's section and see if there's anything that takes your fancy' but no. It doesn't make sense for me to spend money on something and be wasteful when I can't even tell the difference."
Samuel says his wife Amanda dresses him and packs his suitcase (Kennedy News/samuelleedsofficial)Samuel adds that even at times when hasn't been raking in the millions he has still "outsourced" duties to free up more time for his business endeavours. And the tycoon, who recently used his money to build a school in Uganda for 2,000 pupils, admits he never runs errands himself. "I outsource my entire life and never do errands," he said. "What I've realised in business is that it doesn't make sense for me - time-wise - to do anything that's going to distract from either something that's making me money or something I enjoy, like spending time with the kids. I don't do anything at all in terms of normal, regular people stuff. I don't think I've been to a normal shop like a supermarket for many years.
"I don't top petrol up in my car. It's not like I don't do it because it's beneath me, it's just that it's time consuming. I don't do the dishes or take the bins out, neither does my wife. I have a PA, cleaner and a full-time live-in nanny. I've always been a bit like this even when I was 19. I was in property and making £2-£3,000 a month. I was doing ok and even at that point I paid my next-door neighbour to make me my meals, so I've always just been a bit that way inclined. Of course as the business has grown and I've become more successful it's become easier and you can pay people."
Samuel also revealed he won't be pressured into buying luxury sports cars by his wealthy peers - instead he likes to get around in his Range Rover. "I drive a Range Rover Autobiography, he said. "It's a very nice car but the reason I spent money on it is because it's comfortable, it massages me and it has a fridge in it.
Samuel recently forked out £25,000 a night to stay in a Dubai hotel (Kennedy News/samuelleedsofficial)"A lot of wealthy friends try to pressure me to get sports cars. I hired a Lamborghini and a Ferrari one time when I was in Beverly Hills and I just hated them. I really don't understand the obsession with cars. I think I'm unique in that sense because I don't know many people that if they had the resources that I had would have just one one car and it wouldn't be a sports car."
He might not care for flashy clothes and motors, but one thing Samuel does enjoy spending his bucks on is expensive hotels. He recently splashed out a staggering £200,000 on an eight-night stay in Dubai. "I like spending money on experiences," he explained. "I'll happily spend a lot of money on hotels and good food. If I go to a concert I'll get a box, sit in the front row, pay for a meet and greet - they're all things that create memories. My favourite experience was when we stayed in Dubai for eight days at a £25,000-a-night hotel, that was insane."
Samuel has high hopes his three children - aged five, three and two - won't grow up spoiled, meanwhile. This comes after the entrereneur caused a social media stir by sharing videos of him and Amanda flying first class whilst the kids stayed at home with their nanny. He explained: "The eldest are in private school, my two-year-old's not in school yet. I don't really tend to take them on flights. When we go away we normally leave them, but if we do take them we've never taken them in first class.
"This is for many reasons. One, it's a complete waste of money, they don't know the difference. Number two, I'm sensitive to people flying first class because a lot of people flying first have business meetings the next day and they've paid a lot of money on the ticket because they need to sleep. To have kids there is not sensitive.
"I don't think it's a bad thing for kids to understand what the real world looks like and not be constantly spoiled surrounded by luxury, mansions and first class. They need to see what normality's like otherwise they'll have a hard shock when they leave school at 18."
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