John Griffin: Drive to create a dynasty made me £180m

Minicab driver John Griffin lacked ambition until the birth of his two sons. Then he founded his own company, Addison Lee. Now turns over £180m a year.

When he was in his twenties, John Griffin, now 68, never had any ambitions. "I was just floating through life," says the founder of Addison Lee, London's largest minicab company. "Then I had two sons and got a kick in the head. I realised, this was my son and I was a dad."

At the time, Griffin was a minicab driver. "I thought this is not what will please them. I had this paternal thing that I wanted them to have things I never had. It suddenly just became my goal. And with a combination of common sense, good luck, hard work and good people around me, things moved quite swiftly."

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Jody Clarke

Jody studied at the University of Limerick and was a senior writer for MoneyWeek. Jody is experienced in interviewing, for example digging into the lives of an ex-M15 agent and quirky business owners who have made millions. Jody’s other areas of expertise include advice on funds, stocks and house prices.