Billionaire: Life and Times of Sir James Goldsmith

Sir James Goldsmith first made headlines in 1953 when, straight out of Eton, he eloped with the daughter of a Bolivian tea magnate, who pursued them with an army of private detectives. Goldsmith has not been out of the news since. In 1981 he left Britain in disgust at what he perceived as its slide into "decline, poverty and unhappiness" and quickly made over $1 billion in cash. Convinced of the dangers of the greenhouse effect he settled in Mexico where he bought up the remaining rain forest and built himself a house bigger than Blenheim Palace. Here he housed each of his "wives" and waited for the end of Western civilization. When it didn't end he returned to Britain to attempt a takeover bid. The author of this book examines the personal life and motivation behind his startling business success and reveals the man behind the headlines. Ivan Fallon was the City Editor of "The Sunday Telegraph" from 1979 to 1984 and is currently Deputy Editor of "The Sunday Times".