john caudwell

Billionaire's Ball Brings Record Haul

Billionaire John Caudwell is famous for his habit of hiring famous singers to entertain his friends and family but he's also been known to put that energy toward a good cause, his own children's charity. His annual Butterfly Ball for Caudwell Children attracted UK celebrities and brought in a record £1.7 million, pretty impressive in a down economy. The total was £300,000 over last year's haul.

Rod Stewart performed at the event that was also attended by Elizabeth Hurley, Rachel Stevens and Bruce Forsythe. Wealth Bulletin has a quote from John Caudwell, shown above at the event with his girlfriend Claire Johnson. Caudwell said, "It is heart-warming to see that despite the current economic climate people are still prepared to help the less fortunate."

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Leona Lewis Sings At Billionaire's Request

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wealth

British billionaire John Caudwell made his daughter very happy for her 21st birthday. He paid singer Leona Lewis £1 million to sing at his daughter Libby's birthday party. The singer, famous for her song "Bleeding Love" performed seven songs in front of 200 partygoers. The Sun has a couple of camera phone pics of the event. Lewis is reportedly on a month's holiday and has been taking a break from performing until next year while she concentrates on her second album. She made an exception for this event.

Apparently Caudwell does this sort of thing on a regular basis. He flew in Diana Ross to serenade his girlfriend Claire Johnson on her 40th birthday at his mansion in January and last last year he paid Whitney Houston £1.7 million to sing at a charity event. He's planning to have Rod Stewart sing at a private fundraising party in London's Battersea Park in May.

John Caudwell is #450 on the Forbes billionaire list for 2009. He sold his stake in the Caudwell Group, the U.K. mobile phone giant best known for its Phones4U brand in 2006. He spends much of his time raising money for his Caudwell Children charity.

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