Passport to Success

The son of a meat market porter and an office cleaner, Peter Cruddas left Shoreditch Comprehensive School at the age of fifteen with no qualifications and a part-time job as a milkman. Today he's Lord Cruddas of Shoreditch, the founder of a £1.5 billion financial trading company and a distinguished philanthropist, giving to over 200 charities through his foundation, which helps young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. Fed up with Labour's economic mismanagement, Cruddas began his foray into politics, becoming a key Conservative Party donor. But after being elevated to treasurer in 2011, he fell victim to a Sunday Times sting in which he was falsely accused of breaking the law on party donations. With unflinching honesty, he reveals the full story of his successful libel battle and opens a Pandora's box of profound wider questions about newspaper dark arts and the power of the British press over the judicial system. Refusing to be scared off from the political world, Cruddas co-founded the winning Vote Leave campaign. Here, he gives a detailed insider view of the real reasons behind the victory and contemplates how Britain can now thrive outside the EU. Filled with heartbreak and elation, this is the extraordinary story of Cruddas's epic rise from an east London council estate to a Mayfair mansion - and includes plenty of tips for budding billionaires.

Peter Cruddas, Baron Cruddas, founded CMC Markets in 1989 and grew the business rapidly, launching one of the world's first online trading platforms in 1996. Today it is a FTSE 250 company with over £250 million in net operating income and 750 employees. Lord Cruddas was co-treasurer of the Conservative Party from June 2011 until March 2012 and was a co-founder of the pro-Brexit campaign group Vote Leave. In 2006, he founded the Peter Cruddas Foundation, which aims to benefit disadvantaged and disengaged young people in society.