● <B> You are the ultimate self-made man. Could you describe the path that took you from humble beginnings to dazzling wealth? </B>

It?s a long story. I came from a very difficult family life. My father was an alcoholic. I left school at 15 without any qualifications and went out to work. I remember doing the night shift on Christmas Day working for Western Union in London. I have now created a fantastic business that?s made of me a billionaire.

● <B> Congratulations?</B>

Thank you very much. I think that the key to my success was that I created the first system to buy and sell financial products over the Internet. The business has grown all over the world. I have some 22 offices around the world. As the pioneers of online trading, we?re very profitable. That?s propelled me into the stratosphere.

● <B> Where did the idea of Internet trading come from? </B>

When I first got interested in the Internet it was still in its infancy. This was in 1994. I had been working in the financial sector and I had read about Internet ? I am quite a prolific reader ? and I thought to myself that it would be great to try it; and I had one of the first web pages and email systems in Britain. I had a very nice sort of boutique-type business and I just kept experimenting with it.

It wasn?t a flash of inspiration. It was all about working towards a goal without really knowing how successful it was going to be. Then the whole Internet phenomenon took off all over the world and, thanks to my research, I was at the forefront of this explosion. I?ve actually helped pioneer Internet systems around the world for buying and selling financial products.

● <B> Now that you?re a billionaire how do you remain driven? How do you motivate yourself to go to work in the morning? </B>

I?ve never really been motivated by money. I like having money and I like the lifestyle it gives me, but I don?t really lead a billionaire?s lifestyle. I live a normal lifestyle. I?ve got lots of nice things happening to me in my life and I travel first-class. A lot of things motivate me. First of all, I feel that I?ve still got a lot to achieve in business. I?m young, I?m 55. I?ve got the energy. I?ve taken care of myself.

Getting involved in charities has really given me a lift. I?m in Mauritius for the international Gold Event; I?ve been the Duke of Edinburgh?s Global Benefactor for three years and I have committed myself for another three years. I should say that when I was a kid I was a boy scout. Without that experience, I don?t think I?d be where I am today. It got me out of a difficult household and into the countryside. It helped me a lot and that?s why I believe in charities.

● <B> Philanthropy seems to be all the rage nowadays. Bill Gates and Warren Buffett are but two examples of extremely wealthy people who have pledged staggering amounts of money to good causes. To what do you attribute this outpouring of generosity? </B>

As businesspeople, we can make a difference. When you begin a business you just want to survive and make a nice life for yourself, your wife and your children. And then you realize because you have so much money, that you can actually make a difference and that you want to make that difference.

You?re either built that way or you?re not. People like Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and myself have made our money from nothing over a long period of time. We?ve worked hard for our money so we feel a need to give something back. If you look at the top philanthropists in the world they do make a difference in combating disease, etc. and it?s a wonderful reward. Because I started with nothing, I appreciate this even more.

<I>?People like Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and myself have made our money from nothing over a long period of time. We?ve worked hard for our money, so we feel a need to give something back.?</I>

● <B> And now the trillion-dollar question, so to speak. What is your take on the current crisis? </B>

It?s a difficult time, but the financial sector will survive. The governments have acted decisively, they?ve done the right thing generally, although there will have to be some adjustments as they go along and tighten controls. It?s a problem, it?ll be sorted out and then we?ll move on.

● <B> What do you respond to critics who say the working man is bailing out these huge banks? </B>

I can understand their point because the working man is feeling the brunt of the crisis through redundancy, the drop in property prices and the rise in the prices of commodities, such as fuel and food. They feel all this a lot more than rich people. What the banks are doing however is not really to protect rich people. They?re trying to protect the economy. Even poor people need banks, they need the infrastructure. The rescue is taking into account everybody and it will benefit everybody. This is not the time to point fingers; it?s the time to put into place rescue packages and save the financial system.

● <B> What about setting up safeguards against future excesses? </B>

That?ll be the next phase. Once the problem has been solved, they will have to decide why it happened. That will come over the next six months.

● <B> As a self-made man, what advice would you give to budding entrepreneurs? </B>

I love being an entrepreneur. I love having my own company. If you want to be successful, it can sometimes take a long time. My success has come over nearly 20 years. Don?t be motivated by money. Of course, you need money but do something that you like. If you don?t like doing something, then don?t do it.