THE HOT SEAT
What was your first job?
It was at a mobile phone company in north London in
1992, when mobile phones entered the market and cost
£1000 (about $1600). The company went into voluntary
administration, morphing into another one, which also
went into receivership. I asked my boss if he could then
do a bankruptcy just to round off my accounting and
business studies (luckily he didn’t). I couldn’t understand
how entrepreneurs could handle all that pressure of
business volatility, risk and cash flow management.
What’s the best money
advice you’ve ever received?
You’ve got to spend money to make money. I spend a
small fortune every year but, luckily, the majority of my
spending is on assets, marketing, personal education
and experiences that make me more money in years
to come. Most people don’t invest enough, and then
there’s me on the other side of the spectrum. I invest too
much, so there’s probably a better balance in between.
What’s the best investment
decision you’ve made?
Buying my first home at 22. I bought a three-bedroom
£100,000 ($165,400) house for £80,000 ($132,300)
and made two years’ salary overnight. I rented two
rooms out and lived for free as the rent covered the
mortgage. I then refinanced it at 24 and got a free
Porsche. It’s now worth £400,000-£500,000 and I’ve
continued to leverage it to build the rest of my current
$15 million-plus portfolio.
What’s the worst?
Lending money to friends. I’ve rarely received it back,
which puts a strain on the friendship.
What is your favourite
thing to splurge on?
Experiences with friends, clients and colleagues.
I love travel, super cars, super yachts and choppers.
And I typically rent rather than own, buy secondhand
or buy under syndicated ownership, as it often costs
a fraction of the price. That’s how I meet a lot of my
clients so the toys pay for themselves even if they’re not
tax deductible. If you love what you do, you’ll never work
a day in your life.
Where would you invest $10,000?
I’m 100% for investing in property as I don’t like the vol-
atility of shares but, unfortunately, $10,000 doesn’t go
far in property. With this in mind, I would spend $5000
on education, mentoring and advice. I would put the oth-
er $5000 towards legal and other expenses for a joint
property venture with someone who has the money but
not the time or expertise to invest by themselves.What would you do if you had
only $50 in your bank account?
I’ve been there a few times and I got through it by giving
myself a kick up the backside, overcoming personal
excuses and picking up the phone to generate some
sales. I’d only stop when I had made 100 calls and
booked back-to-back meetings for the next two weeks.Do you intend to leave
an inheritance?
I do want to leave my children a fund to give them a
head start in building their asset portfolio from an early
age. I’ve been incredibly fortunate and I want them to
have that opportunity early on rather than in their late
50s when many opportunities will have passed them. At
the same time, it can be challenging knowing how much
to give your children and under what terms. I don’t think
anyone has 100% solved the problem of how to give
your kids money without spoiling them.Are Sydney and Melbourne in
a property bubble?
Markets with high-density, brand new, high-rise prop-
erties are subject to a drop, especially if they’ve been
marketed to speculators or overseas buyers who can’t
settle. I think secondhand, median-priced properties
in inner-city blue-chip suburbs that were bought on
independent bank valuations are still very short in sup-
ply with plenty of demand. As such, I think these will
continue to rise, albeit at a slower rate than in the most
recent years.Finish this sentence: money
makes ...
the world go round. You can either master the expertise of
money yourself or let it master you. It all comes down to
knowledge and expertise and putting them into practice.Chris Gray
Founder and CEO of
Empire. He hosts Your
Property Empire on Sky
News Business Channel,
features as a property
expert on Channel 9’s
MyHome TV, and is a
judge on Channel 10’s
The Renovators. Chris is
a qualified accountant,
mortgage broker and
buyer’s agent. He started
investing in property at
22 and has been semi-
retired from the age of- He is also the author
of The Effortless Empire
property guide.
“You’ve got to spend money to
make money ... I spend a small
fortune every year”