In his own words, Paul Naden tells the story of how he quit his glamorous lifestyle to come to the rescue of African rhinos.
"I went from having nothing to being a multi-millionaire. I owned homes all over the world, could pick up everyone’s bar tab in Ibiza, and had endless luxury cars. But my life was empty.
As a kid growing up in Macclesfield, we had pets and going to the zoo was a treat. However, the idea of travelling the world, and seeing exotic animals in their own habitat, was as far-fetched as flying to the Moon.
There was ample love, but we never had much money. My father left when I was 12, so my mum Christine raised me and my older brother alone.
I used to think my mum must love tomatoes, because she’d eat them stewed every night for dinner. It was only later I realised that, after feeding us boys, she couldn’t afford to feed herself.
My grandfather helped raise us and he was a real inspiration. After the war he’d had the option to buy his first family house, or buy a piece of land with a greenhouse on it. He bought the land, lived in the greenhouse, and started his own nursery business.
Everyone in the family was expected to work there, so I was the black sheep choosing to study Biology at Bristol University. But we couldn’t afford it, so after a year I came back.
I had this burning ambition to achieve more, so aged 19, I left home, sleeping on friends’ sofas or in the car, taking any work I could.
A mate’s dad, John, asked me to pick up a car in London that had been deliberately abandoned by a disgruntled ex-employee in a very expensive car park. It had accrued two months of parking tickets.
John asked me to collect the car, handing me £2,000 to pay the tickets. Back in 1989, I’d never seen so much money.
I managed to sweet talk the guy on the desk, gave him £50 for a new ticket, and drove back to Cheshire with £1,950 to give to John. He laughed, and offered me a sales job with his company, Homeowners Financial Services (HFS). I grabbed my chance and grafted my way up.
My career took flight, and at 21 I met my first wife Susie. We had four kids, Max, now 21, Tara, 20, Sienna, 17, and Lola, 15.
By the time I was 28 I was General Manager of the company when a competitor offered me a million pounds to set up with them.
I remained loyal to John at HFS, and in return he gave me 10% of the company. That’s when the business really took off – by 2003 our profit was £12 million.
Cracks began appearing in my marriage, though. Susie was a homebody, keen to stay at the family nest in Greater Manchester, but I wanted to travel. We never rowed, but our differences grew and we split in 2008.
I threw myself further into work. But I’d become egotistical. I’d moved to South Kensington, London, and evenings were spent at celeb hangouts.
I partied hard, but I was on autopilot, picking up holiday homes and cars – Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Porsches, Bentleys – but getting less pleasure each time, feeling less fulfilled. I was successful, yet money was not making me content. Drinking and partying made me ill.
It all came to a head when I was diagnosed with acute cirrhosis of the liver in 2013 and told I might only have months to live. Burnt-out and low, I checked myself into SHA Wellness Clinic in Spain.
With no bar to prop up, I threw myself into meditation, and learned about emotional intelligence.
I saw a psychiatrist for the first time, and the sentence ‘You own your own emotions’ really stuck with me, it was a light-bulb moment. No one – and nothing else – could make me happy, it had to come from within.
After two weeks I came out a different person, less angry, more reflective. Over the next six months I took stock of the properties, companies and cars I’d accrued and realised I just didn’t want them.
I made the decision to sell up and focus on things that would fulfil me emotionally. I had five companies at this point, some were making a few million a year, but I got rid of them. I sold the holiday homes, just keeping one near my family.
I had over a dozen supercars, worth about £5 million in total. Gradually, they all went.
After a year, my life had completely changed – I thought, ‘What do I want to do now?’ so I decided to focus on charity work.
I’d married Lisa, 44, a strong-willed, beautiful Swede in 2015, and we both loved to travel. That same year we founded Project Red, a conservation charity. The idea was to travel to Africa, looking for potential initiatives to sponsor.
One charity that stood out was Saving The Survivors, a group of specialised vets, led by Dr Johan Marais, who treat injured wildlife, victims of poaching in southern Africa.
When poachers hack off rhinos’ horns for cash, the animal often endures a slow death. But Johan’s pioneering surgery – applying elephant skin onto the wound – could save its life. He’s saved around 200 rhinos so far.
I said, ‘I’m in a fortunate financial position, how can I help?’ Through Project Red’s investment, Johan has been able to spread his ground-breaking work elsewhere, including Mozambique, South Africa and South Sudan.
We work as a team. I can’t tell one end of a rhino from the other, but logistically, I’m useful. And what a privilege that is!
We’ve had a few frightening moments out there. A lion was right outside our tent once, drinking from the bowl we had been washing our feet in. Lisa hissed at me, ‘There’s a lion outside.’ I said, ‘And what do you want me to do about it?’
Luckily it went away, but we held our breath for a while.
We’ve been charged at by a leopard in Namibia. In an encounter with some aggressive poachers in the Serengeti National Park we spotted some bushfires and knew poachers were there – we had to fire warning shots to prove we were armed and hoped they wouldn’t confront us.
We were also camping once and when we rolled up our thin mattresses there was a huge scorpion underneath. The guide said it was a dangerous one.
Our most exciting expedition, to South Sudan, was to save the Northern White Rhino. This iconic species was officially declared extinct by scientists in 2018, with only two living females left.
But after talking to locals we found there was a genuine belief the rhino was still there. I was horrified people had given up on the species, and was determined to find out.
I rang the BBC who were supportive, but just as we were in the middle of filming a documentary about it, coronavirus struck. I am desperate to get back out there as soon as we are allowed.
Now, I don’t own a car, HQ is in Macclesfield, but I spend a lot of time living simply in Africa in bushcamps, under canvas or in shacks. I feel sick about the amount of money I spent on my own personal gratification.
I think of those flashy lunches and dinners and realise I could have saved 20 lions with that, or paid a vet’s wages for a year. I hope I have passed on life lessons to my kids.
Instead of asking for a Christmas present, my daughter Sienna asks for her flight, so she can volunteer to teach English in developing countries.
I have no interest in money other than how I can benefit bigger causes. Dedicating my life to something meaningful has fulfilled me more than I ever thought possible."
- To donate, please go to SavingTheSurvivors.org