The secret millionaire

adypem

cepheus wrote:

So what did John do, give them a £10 000 deposit on a mortgage, so instead of being £800 in debt they were now £90800 in debt. There was no mention of paying of the Credit card debt or examining if they could afford the mortgage payments.

I also watched the programme and I thought what john was saying regaring the credit card debt was along the lines of "You have got into this yourself and seem to be getting out, and the process of getting out of debt will be a lesson."

If indeed he did pay the 10k deposit on a house, that was probably be better than giving the couple 10K to do with as they feel fit. That way they wouldn't be able to take the journey to free themselves of debt.

By "making" the couple repay the cc debt this will put them in a good position for managing the bills and accounts of running a house.

In respect to giving someone a job as a trainee account, fair play I say... Whilst the others have had 5k/10k etc... this could be costing him 10/20k p.a until he is fully trained... and I don't think this could be classed as a "tax" break like the other donations...

rog2

I did not watch the program, so can not give an informed opinion. It may, or may not have been a genuine programme - if it was then let's have more of the same.
I am just a bit cynical of Channel 4's seemingly frivolent approach to debt, and its problems, having watched previous programmes, by them, which were so obviously designed to 'trivialise' the implications of debt in the interests of viewer ratings.
Shortest ever 'rant' by me, and if I am wrong, then I most humbly apologise.

sophiesmum_2

The man who was on the programme this week had a personal fortune of over £60 million pounds yet only gave away £17,000.
I earn less than £15,000 a year after tax but have supported many charities locally and have helped out friends who have been in a worse situation than myself. Proportionally I have given away much more than this man this year alone (about 10% of my income)and do the same every year, and I am not alone, There are many people who support worthy causes or help out those less fortunate than themselves but don't seek recognition or gratitude. The best thing that Mr Elliott did was to give the guy the accountancy job - that would make a real difference. The young guy in the first programme kept in touch with the project he helped and joined its board, offering his financial acumen would be great for that project and will probably pay dividends in the future. The financial amounts being offered are not life changing but time and expertise could be. I have more respect for the latter., particularly as the money involved is small change to those involved.
I will be watching the rest of the series though to see if anyone does actually make a life changing gesture.

itsarichmansworld

I saw one of the previous episodes kinda annoyed me

seems like the upper classes having a laugh at our expense...

advent1122

He probably earned £7,500 in interest in the time it took him to write out the cheque and have a cuppa.

rog2

advent1122 wrote:

He probably earned £7,500 in interest in the time it took him to write out the cheque and have a cuppa.

Out of interest, did he do the show for nothing - no fees or expenses?

Tomthumb

I watched this with DH and we had mixed feelings about it all like a lot of you did. We were both shocked when the guy running the asylum hostel said that it was ridiculous that some of these asylum seekers had to wait as long as 3 MONTHS for a house!!! - surely that's nothing for most brits on the council/HA waiting lists?

nagger_2

There is a lot of critisism of someone who helped others! They did say at the begining of the show that he also supported many local charities, so to suggest that all he gave away this year was £17,000 is way off the mark. Some people are quick to judge without knowing all the facts.

I live very close to John Elliots area, it is not affluent by any streatch of the imagination. His company provides employment for 300 local people, he could easily have followed the trend and taken his business to the far east but he has stayed here. I suspect had he been put into the position of the first millionaire show (london) he too would have been able to help far more.

Instead he was put into an area of Liverpool where there was not too much of a problem. Some of the locals he got talking to stated they were happy on the dole and knew what they were entitled to. I think he drew the correct conclusions and was right not to help them.