Felix Dennis, a hedonist and media magnate, died on June 22nd aged 67

http://www.economist.com/news/obituary/21606234-felix-dennis-hedonist-and-media-magnate-died-june-22nd-aged-67-felix-dennis

by swombat • 12 years ago

68 16 12 years ago

economist.com

swombat• 12 years ago

I for one greatly enjoyed the honesty of "How to get rich" - which, for once, was not written by someone who got rich teaching people how to get rich, but simply be someone who did get rich.

I can't say I espouse all of Felix's approach to wealth-building, but it certainly was an interesting read. I recommend it to any entrepreneur.

robfitz• 12 years ago

And given that I'm currently borrowing (and conveniently forgetting to return) swombat's copy of the aforementioned book, I would have to agree.

I've been recommending it to everyone as a counterpoint to the Lean Startup stuff. It's hard to make a real decision if you've only got one voice in your ear.

Probably my favourite book I read this year. Well worth the time.

SyneRyder• 12 years ago

The Audible version of the book is brilliant, the narration takes it to a whole new level. It felt like I was listening to a British comedy with a John Cleese character. One of my favorite Audible books.

There's a great story in there about how they survived a cashflow crisis. Very dodgy, but fantastic to read about, and it's good to see some honesty about those tactics.

I've personally made lots of notes through Chapter 5, and Chapter 9 where he talks about the darker moments when he nearly threw it all in.

nickgrosvenor• 12 years ago

I'm so bummed that there isn't an audible version of his books available in the United States. Or am I wrong about that?

charlesdm• 12 years ago

Totally agree. One of the best (and most honest) books on the subject I've ever read.

throwawayaway2• 12 years ago

Dennis publishing computer magazines helped me, and many others become "advanced users" at a young age. Pretty sure they pointed me in the direction of the BASIC programming part of the Windows 95 CD. Didn't know anything about the man til reading the article.

It seems like he had no great interest in computers, like Branson, enabling the talents of others to do the work for him brought success.

His personality seems to have informed the style of PC Zone - one of the many places Charlie Brooker cut his teeth.

k-mcgrady2• 12 years ago

> "It seems like he had no great interest in computers, like Branson, enabling the talents of others to do the work for him brought success."

I wouldn't characterise Branson in that way. A lot of his ventures seem like passion projects, in particular Records and Galactic.

throwawayaway2• 12 years ago

Branson has passion and interest in his ventures unlike Dennis who did not care for the subject material.

Branson's management style is supposed to be quite hands off, you'd have to think Dennis was also hands off.

ryanjshaw• 12 years ago

In his book, "How to Get Rich", I believe he wrote that despite owning many luxury cars he didn't actually know how to drive: because he could pay people for that. It's quite an interesting attitude, one that I wish I had a better intuitive understanding of because I think I often waste time doing things that somebody else could be doing for me.

nanijoe• 12 years ago

I suspect many here do not know who he is, but you should probably read his "How to get rich" book..here's a quote :

"Inch by inch, share by share, the nerds diluted to gain capital to expand and survive. Eventually, the majority of them lost control of their tiny companies. Many became salaried employees of the company they had helped to found."

dylanz• 12 years ago

Wasn't one of end goals to plant a huge forest? I'd love to know if he chased that dream at all. "How to get rich" was a fantastic book, and one that I recommend to others frequently.

adwf• 12 years ago

According to the article (near the end), he started a 20000 hectare forest at a cost of £200m, with over 1m trees planted before his death.

redmaverick• 12 years ago

Loved his book. This gem stands out for me:

Should you find yourself unable to measure up to at-least one of the following below, you will never be rich.

1. If you are unwilling to fail, sometimes publicly, and even catastrophically, you stand little chance of ever getting rich.

2. If you care what the neighbours think, you will never get rich.

3. If you cannot bear the thought of causing worry to your family, spouse or lover while you plough a lonely, dangerous road rather than taking the safe option of a regular job, you will never get rich.

4. If you have artistic inclinations and fear that the search for wealth will coarsen such talents, you will never get rich. (Because your fear, in this instance, is well justified.)

5. If you are not prepared to work longer hours than almost anyone you know, despite the jibes of colleagues and friends, you are unlikely to get rich.

6. If you cannot convince yourself that you are “good enough” to be rich, you will never get rich.

7. If you cannot treat your quest to get rich as a game, you will never be rich.

graeme• 12 years ago

I feel very sad reading this. I first found Felix in "How to get rich". It was even better than I expected it would be. Few books have felt so honest. He wrote that he had nothing to gain from the book, as he was already rich. I think this was true.

I'm taking a different route to entrepreneurship and riches than he did (lower goal, far less struggle) but much of what he wrote rang true for my situation, too.

Throughout "how to get rich" he mentioned his poetry, which is what he devoted his life too after he gave up booze, drugs and mistresses. I've never got into poetry, but wanted to. So I picked up a book.

It was good. I picked up another book, and enjoyed that too. And what's more, now I get more enjoyment out of other poems. I'm still learning, but he's changed how I appreciate a major branch of literature.

And now he's dead. I can never thank him for any of that. I had intended to write him. Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today. That was a lesson hard learned for him, pervasive in his book and poetry. It's trite, but it's so very true. We all have so little time.

This poem fells apropos. I suspect that, though he died fairly young, he is glad to have avoided this fate:

http://www.felixdennis.com/poetry/dementia/

-------------------

How to get rich: http://www.amazon.com/How-Get-Rich-Greatest-Entrepreneurs/dp...

The first of his poetry books I read:

http://www.amazon.com/Tales-From-Woods-audio-CD/dp/009193767...

Felix Dennis, a hedonist and media magnate, died on June 22nd aged 67

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