Andrew Black: the quickfire round
Andrew Black on the media, haunting, dinner parties and fun.
I am probably a slightly haunted person. I’m definitely driven to prove things to myself. I don’t know why I am like I am. I’m not an aggressive person on the whole and it’s not lust for money “ it never has been, but it is about proving one’s self. I couldn’t tell you why that is and sometimes I wish it wasn’t there.
I was asked for three people I’d like to have at my dinner party recently. I like people who do things a bit differently and who are a bit eccentric. Michelangelo because, for me, he was the ultimate long-termist. If you go to St Peter’s Basilica in Rome, there’s a statue he spent two years carving and four years polishing. It is almost the ultiÂmate act of long-term thinking. I love tennis, so I put Andre Agassi down. I put publisher, poet and entrepreneur Felix Dennis down just because I think he is a really cool guy; clearly a bit strange.
I get irritated by the attitude of a lot of the media in this country. There’s a negativity here in the UK that can be soul-destroying and I really don’t like it. I don’t particularly like criticism if it’s unjust.
To be honest, I’m short of good advice. I used to go to my father, but he died unfortunately. I have a few friends whose advice I trust. Really quality advice is always going to be hard to find.
I think the whole horseracing thing is giving me the biggest kicks at the moment, that and my kids. I’m a very emotional person; I’m much too emotional. But then I cry watching a children’s film.
I think fun is often success. But I also think it’s doing things that are different and unique and I think for a lot of the businesses that I’m involved in, we do have a laugh and that means a lot to me.
Maybe I’ll get into another comÂpany of my own one day. But I’m not sure if I have enough space in my life to do that any more and I have to think about that very seriously.
For more from Andrew Black, see our exclusive four-part video series…
1) Andrew Black on a Betfair IPO
2) Andrew Black on the Betfair story
3) Andrew Black on egaming
4) The psychology of Andrew Black
…or read the Andrew Black CEO Interview.