- Entrepreneur Sir David Hempleman-Adams’ Wealth Management Strategy
- Financial Lessons and Perspective
- Charitable Contributions and Views on Inheritance Tax
Sir David Hempleman-Adams, an entrepreneur and industrialist, has given all of his property and nearly all of his assets to his offspring to avoid paying inheritance tax (IHT).
Now 66 years old, he resides in Wiltshire with his companion, Dr. Rosalind Smith, a trustee at St. John Ambulance. He has three adult daughters from a prior marriage: Alicia, Camilla, and Amelia.
Hempleman-Adams, who is attempting to become one of the first (and oldest) persons to cross the Atlantic in an open basket hydrogen balloon this month, says he will end up living in a tent on Dartmoor if his partner kicks him out of her home.
If elected Chancellor of the Exchequer, he would also seek to eliminate the IHT.
What financial lessons did your parents teach you?
My father would always say, “Always be ravenous. Never be avaricious. My grandfather was also an industrial chemist and merchant.
They had a family business, manufacturing glue and selling it all around the globe. My mother worked as a homemaker.
We were all under her control. We were a typical household of the middle class. My brother and I attended the local comprehensive school in Swindon, where we resided.
As a child, I never really considered money, but I do recall pondering why my father purchased bottled water in restaurants. I reasoned: Why not just drink faucet water?
Have you ever had difficulty making ends meet?
When I’ve traveled the globe and seen people starving, it would be incredibly insulting to say I’ve struggled.
In some of the most remote locations I’ve visited, people are on the verge of starvation.
When I return home to a restaurant meal or a steamy shower, I am humblingly reminded of how fortunate I am. It makes me feel very fortunate to be in the United Kingdom.
What is the most expensive trip you’ve ever taken?
During a mid-1990s expedition, I was the first Briton to trek alone and unsupported to the South Pole.
It cost £75,000, which was a significant amount of money at the time and is equivalent to nearly £150,000 today.
Have you ever been paid an absurd amount?
A bank asked me to give an hour-long lecture at their annual conference a few years ago.
I was only asked to speak for ten minutes at the end because the preceding speakers ran over. Per minute, it was the most lucrative time of my life. I earned enough money to purchase a compact family car.
What was the greatest financial year of your life?
Since I entered the family glue business, I have been an industrialist my entire existence, creating products and earning a living.
Expeditions have always been a hobby of mine; I would go on them during my vacations.
My finest year was 1995 when I sold a substantial portion of my business to an American corporation.
I’d rather not disclose the exact amount, but it was a life-changing sum that made me affluent and provided financial security for my family.
I ensured that our workforce received a portion of the proceeds from the sale, and I also donated a substantial amount of money to charity, as I felt it was vital to contribute back. The celebration consisted of a delicious dinner, after which I continued to manage the remainder of the business.
Was it difficult to take time away from work for expeditions?
For many years, I was unable to leave. Then, I assembled an exceptional management team and delegated so they could run the business without me.
Despite this, we would be in daily, constant communication via satellite phone.
I recall once I was on the satellite phone in the Arctic, shivering away, because it was about minus 30.
And I was discussing the forthcoming release of a new marketing brochure. I thought to myself, “Christ, I’m shivering my a** off here while discussing how to sell glue in Poland.”
Have expeditions altered your perspective on money?
When your entire worldly possessions are on a sled or in a knapsack, your perspective on the world changes drastically.
If you are chilly in a tent, it does not matter how much money you have in the bank. You are Elon Musk, but you are still cold and frightened.
And if everything goes wrong, all the money in the world will not assist. It is therefore a very humbling experience for me, as it brings me back to fundamentals.
I am aware that it is possible to live with very little, which is one of the reasons I do not feel the need to purchase an expensive vehicle, for instance. I appreciate these remote locations, being by myself with whatever I have, and being able to survive in such a manner.
Consequently, landing at Heathrow is frequently a wake-up call.
I can have considerable difficulty decompressing.
What is your greatest financial error?
Sharing advice with pals over Sunday lunch. I will contact my stockbroker on Monday morning, purchase the shares, and consider myself successful.
By five o’clock that evening, the price of that share had inevitably halved. Now that I’m wiser, I no longer invest directly in the stock market.
What’s the greatest financial decision you’ve made?
Buying real estate. Every single house I’ve owned has been a solid investment and it’s always nice to know you’ve got the keys to your castle.
Do you contribute to a pension?
No longer, as doing so is tax-efficient for me. Currently, if I contributed, I would be saving for the government.
But I believe a pension is important – having one in your back pocket provides you a sense of security.
I began contributing to mine forty years ago, at the age of 25. Technically, I could begin taking it immediately, but I have yet to do so. It is administered by a financial consultant.
Do you own your residence and other property?
No, I have transferred my family home, my commercial property, and my management stock to my offspring for IHT planning purposes.
So I’m in a conundrum. My companion and I reside in south Wiltshire. She owns the home in which I reside, so if she ever decides to evict me, I will have to leave.
I will spend the remainder of my life living in a tent on Dartmoor, hoping that someone will give me a bacon sandwich.
If you were the Chancellor, what would you do first?
I have made sacrifices for my children’s safety. I would get rid of the inheritance tax.
There is no such thing in other countries around the world, such as the United States.
When I was a child, large estate proprietors were the ones who were required to sell paintings to pay death duty. Now, countless are apprehended.
Do you contribute to charities?
In the 1990s, I established the Youth Adventure Trust to enable disadvantaged youth to participate in expeditions, and I have invested a substantial amount of money in this endeavor.
I am a trustee of several charitable organizations, including Outward Bound and the Royal Aero Club, and am a generous donor.
