Felix Dennis and I have a fair amount in common. He likes the idea of a meritocracy as do I:
Companies, he says, should foster a spirit of entrepreneurialism, not team spirit. They should be “ruthless meritocracies”. Team spirit, he says, “is the glue that binds losers together. We’re not in this together. Either one or many bastards own the company you work for. Do you think for a moment that those owners give a monkey’s about you? If you wish to become wealthy, you have to see [team spirit] for the hypocritical balm that it is.
We’re both publishers (though his empire is rather larger than mine) we both have beards, are short, tubby and heavy smokers, we both wear glasses and I too am partial to fine French wines (though not the whites referred to in the article linked above.) He’s done time for obscenity although the judge made the incredible gaff of declaring that Felix was “very much less intelligent” than his co-defendants. I got banged up once in my dark and impetuous youth (no stories – sorry.)
Sadly, there the resemblance ends. He thinks flat tax is a spiffing idea:
If we had a flat tax we could massively increase the amount of money in the public purse because everyone would pay all of their taxes straight away. And we’d have loads more multi-millionaires. Having a tax code that is incomprehensible to intelligent people tells you everything you need to know about the brand of capitalism practised in this country—it is foolish, self-defeating and cowardly.
Sorry Felix – that one won’t fly. It appeals because it favours the wealthy and is based on the delusional idea that most people don’t mind paying tax. If that was true, most of my brethren would be out of business. But at least Felix plays the game. His company accounts are remarkably transparent for a private company and he seems to be paying the level of tax of which Richard would approve 
Oh yes – he’s worth several billion quid £715 million more than I. Oh well.
Hat tip to that other bearded wonder – David Tebbutt – who worked for Felix in the ’70s and who looks remarkably like Felix.
