The Man Who Destroyed His Multi Million Pounds Empire In Seconds

Gerald Ratner
Interview & Article by Ninder Johal
This interview is also available in a Podcast on the Nachural YouTube Channel 
Podcast also available on Apple & Spotify
 
This year marks the 30th anniversary of Gerald Ratner’s well-known speech delivered at the Albert Hall for the Institute of Directors. It was a speech that would change both his career and the future of his business.
Coming from an entrepreneurial family, Ratner was surrounded by business. He recalls how his parents were always ‘talking shop’. He would often join his father in visiting the six retail outlets during school holidays from the age of eight. He was always interested in business from a young age. Ratner found himself not engaging with the education system. He describes how he had ‘just scraped the eleven plus’.
 

Despite that, the headmaster saw his potential and vowed to take him on. Ratner’s time in education appeared to be cut short, he often stumbled because of difficulties with con...