Latest articles by Jody Clarke
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The Babylon Fund: for wealthy investors with a sense of adventure
Merryn's Blog Björn Englund probably has one of the hardest day jobs going. He's the manager of the $29.9M Iraqi-focused Babylon Fund, and he wants to convince us that Iraq is a credible place to park money for the long haul. And so far, he's not doing such a bad job.
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Organic food - not only a con, but dangerous too
Merryn's Blog Sales of premium-priced organic food have slumped this year, with demand for organic vegetables down more than a third, and for fertiliser-free fruit falling nearly 16%. But while that's bad news for the sellers of vegetable box schemes, not to mention Tesco (who sell over £1bn worth of organic food) it might just be good news for humanity. Not only are there no demonstrable health benefits from organic food, it is also incapable of feeding the world.
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Mike Sinyard: riding the mountain bike craze to a fortune
Features Mike Sinyard started selling bike bits with $1,500 from the sale of his old VW bus. Now his company turns over $500m and his bikes appear everywhere from the Tour de France to Scottish mountain bike trails.
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Forget Trident – here's where we really need to slash spending
Merryn's Blog Labour politicians have tried to avoid using the word 'cut'. But even they now seem to accept the idea that something needs to be done about public sector spending. The trouble is, our leaders have been rather reluctant to say exactly where the axe should fall.
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Sir Christopher Evans: How I turned a love of science into £150m
Features Sir Christopher Evans started his biotech company 22 years ago developing enzymes in a rented prefab hut. Now he is worth £150m.
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Joe Mansueto: The simple idea that made me $1bn
Features Joe Mansueto, the son of an Indiana doctor, was catapulted onto the rich list with the success of his investment research group, Morningstar.
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Charles Rolls: my quest for the perfect gin and tonic
Features As chief executive of a gin distillery, Charles Rolls could never find the perfect tonic. So he set up his own company to produce one.
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Andrew Black: punter who revolutionised gambling
Features In just nine years, maths boffin Andrew Black has revolutionised the gambling industry with Betfair, his £300m-a-year online betting site.
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Murray Clark: How I seized a window of opportunity
Features Entrepreneur Murray Clark started off importing window shutters with £1,500 cash and some unused airmiles. Now his business, the California Company, has annual sales of £3m, and is about to expand into America.
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Warren Evans: Texas-born bedmaker feathering his nest
Features Warren Evans made his first pine bed atr the age of 17. This year, his company is expecting turnover to hit £13m. That's a far cry from the last recession, when he lost a fortune, his business and his house.
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The real villain in the Gary McKinnon scandal
Features Computer hacker Gary McKinnon is one step nearer to being extradited to the US. But Britain's Home Office is the real villain of the piece, says Jody Clarke.
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How to profit as wealth and power head East
Features The domination of the West is coming to an end, as economic power shifts to the East. Jody Clarke reports on where to find the next big investment opportunities, and tips the companies set to be the multinationals of the future.
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Carolyn Cresswell: how I made a million from muesli
Features At the age of 18, Carolyn Cresswell and a friend spent AU$2,000 on a neighbourhood muesli-making business. Now her company, Carman's Fine Foods, turns over AU$15m a year.
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Does development aid do any good?
Features A raft of recent books and studies has suggested that international aid to Africa is stifling economic growth. Now US President Barack Obama has joined in the debate. So does aid do more harm than good, and would greater free trade be a better solution? Jody Clarke reports.
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Find the authentic Spain in Madrid
Features Jody Clarke visits Madrid, the most authentically Spanish of all the country's cities, and finds it hard to leave.
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Mike Batt: The man who wrote the Wombles jingle
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Guy Watson: how I mastered organic growth
Features Farmer's son Guy Watson set up his organic vegetable business on three acres of land. Now his company, Riverford Organic, turns over £33m a year.
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Olivia Lum: how I sold my car to jump start a £231m company
Features Abandoned at birth and raised as an orphan, Olivia Lum sold mangos at school to make ends meet. Now she is CEO of one of the world's most dynamic water-filtration firms.
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Fil Adams-Mercer: 'If you’re ballsy, you’ll make money'
Features Wheeler-dealer Fil-Adams Mercer, owner of Britain's biggest independent online parcel delivery firm, has come a long way from his beginnings in a two-bedroom council house in Bolton.
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Ron Hamilton: contact lens mogul with vision to succeed
Features Ron Hamilton had a comfortable life as vice president of a multinational firm. In 1993, he threw that aside to start his own business. Now his company is set for sales of £6m a year.
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Peter Hargreaves: canny pessimist who's made £85m
Features Baker's son Peter Hargreaves set up business selling unit trusts by post with just £5,000. When his company went public 16 years later, he pocketed £85m.
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Tristram Mayhew: how I shook £1m from the money tree
Features In just eight years, Tristram Mayhew, a former officer in the Royal Dragoon Guards, has built an adventure company with a turnover of OF £10m-a-year.
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Peter Leitch: from Scrag End to Millionaires' Row
Features Peter Leitch, the no-nonsense, dyslexic son of a New Zealand coal miner, worked his way up from butcher's boy to head of an empire of 40 shops worth NZ$200m.
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Solitaire Townsend's green route to riches
Features Solitaire Townsend started her 'green' public relations agency from a dingy office in Brixton. Now her firm, Futerra, boasts a turnover of more than £2m.
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