Welcome back to the Shepheard Walwyn Podcast. Today we begin a series to celebrate and explore the work of Don Riley. We have revised and fully updated Don’s classic work, Taken for a Ride – Trains, Taxpayers and the Treasury.
Don was an entrepreneur and landlord in Southwark, London who benefitted massively from a new underground extension, the Jubilee Line Extension in the 1990s. He was able to document through research and through his bank balance just how profitable that public investment was. As a committed entrepreneur he was incensed that he was benefitted from a taxpayer investment. Instead of quietly counting his profits he wrote a book about the corruption that he saw in the economy.
The book has been revised by Fred Harrison, the economist who supported Don writing the original book, Dave Wetzel, former Vice Chair of Transport for London and me. We also have a fascinating contribution from Steve Norris, the transport minister who pushed through Treasury approval for what has become the most profitable and impactful public transport investment London has seen since the War.
In this interview, I interview Phil Anderson, author of The Secret Life of Real Estate and Banking. Phil was friends with Don and spent time understanding his approach to investing and the work he did that you can benefit from in Taken for a Ride. Here are the time stamps.
0:00 Welcome and background to Taken for a Ride.
2:00 What did Don do to make his own money? What did he do when he saw his profits coming from the taxpayer?
8:00 Whilst public investment, private profit is wrong, you should understand what makes a good investment to maximise your own returns as a property owner.
10:40 Other reasons for buying the book to deepen your understanding of the corruption in the system.
13:20 Call to action- call your political representative to lobby to get this changed.
14:00 Thanks and close.
If you’re interested in reading the book, please visit https://bit.ly/SW-TFAR-Pod
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