How this 37-year-old went from Nottingham pub landlord to millionaire nightclub owner and property magnate living a life of luxury in Dubai
Maximillian White, a 37-year-old entrepreneur from Nottingham, has his finger in many pies.
A self-confessed workaholic and passionate family man, he started as the UK's youngest pub licensee -- and now leads a rather glamorous life in Dubai.
His career highlights to date include becoming a shareholder in online music store Beatport, making some lucrative investments in Eastern European property, and writing and producing a song sampled on Drake's "One Dance."
When he's not flying first class around the world, working, or hitting the gym, you'll catch him cruising around in one of his three cars, or sailing his boat around the Aegean Sea.
He just opened a beach club on Portugal's Algarve, and bets on it becoming the next big European party destination. His parties already attract DJs and hip hop acts like Tyga, French Montana, and Rick Ross.
We caught up with White to hear about his journey from Nottingham choir boy to millionaire nightclub owner and property magnate.
Meet Maximillian White, a 37-year-old entrepreneur from Nottingham who has built an empire through investments in property, hospitality, and the music industry. It's safe to say he has his finger in many pies.
?He told Business Insider that he became the youngest pub landlord in the UK at just 17. His father helped him put the money down for the pub in a run down area.
As is often the case with entrepreneurs, his first business didn't take off -- the pub was in a student area with a high crime rate, and students were warned not to go out to local pubs and bars.
Luckily, he soon made a few smart investments, and now he says he's a millionaire. He also has an Instagram following of 2.4 million.
He lives in Dubai most of the year, apart from during the summer months when it gets too hot and he heads to Marbella with his family to cool off.
Over the years he's spent time running nightclubs and DJing in European party destinations such as Mallorca, Ibiza, and Ayia Napa.
White leads a rather glamorous life in Dubai. He counts a Porsche 918 Spyder, as well as a Bugatti Veyron and Rolls Royce, among his car collection.
He is father to four children, three boys -- two of which are twins -- and a girl.
He captioned this picture: 'My son's box view for Real Madrid vs Napoli,' calling it a 'present from dad.'
He told Business Insider that he comes from a hardworking family that taught him a strong work ethic. He lives by the saying 'If you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, then you will be successful.'
His family was also in the hospitality business -- his dad bought hotels and restaurants, then worked to improve their reputation. White told Business Insider they were originally wealthy, and White and his brother attended private school. However, his dad lost his money investing in the Newby Grange Hotel, a hotel golf course resort in Carlisle, and they had to move to a state school.
White's a dedicated family man. He said: "The most important themes in my life have always been family, music, and boxing." He even has Louis Vuitton boxing gloves.
His work involves lots of travel, and these days it's strictly first class -- and only with Emirates.
White said he's not afraid to take risks when it comes to business and currently counts 30 properties and companies in his portfolio. This is his own living room.
He said the most profitable investments of his career were becoming a shareholder in online music store Beatport, a place where people could download tracks that he added was ahead of its time, and buying up property in Eastern Europe.
He sold his shares in Beatport to invest in property in Eastern Europe, where his dad had connections -- and it all paid off.
White has used his experience on the party circuit and connections in the music industry to carve out a career as a producer himself as well. He currently runs his own record label, Defenders Ent.
He said: "We were pioneers of funky house music. If you know 500 tunes, 400 were created by us." Now he listens to opera music in his spare time and produces hip hop.
His music career highlights include producing the original track which was sampled on Drake's 'One Dance' hit, and working with the likes of Omarion, Birdman, Tinie Tempah, and Jay Sean, to name but a few.
There seems to be Champagne at every party he goes to.
But while he's clearly partial to a glass of fizz, red wine is his 'go to' -- and he's lucky enough to have his own wine cellar.
He told Urbanologie: "I grew up with my father educating me on wines, so as I travel I take advantage of experiencing the different varieties of wines from different regions."
His latest venture is the Blanco Beach Club bar in Portim?o, in the Algarve, Portugal. Hip hop star Tyga headlined the launch party in July 2017.
A string of famous artists and DJs have performed there since and the club just hosted the BPM Music Festival, which relocated to Portugal from Mexico for the first time this year.
White said he saw an opening in the Portuguese hospitality market: 'I don't like to follow fashion. I could have opened in Ibiza, financially it wouldn't have been problem for me, but this is Portugal's first beach club. I want to educate people in daytime partying, something that's not readily available there.'
The fact that prices are generally cheaper in Portugal than rival party destinations means it has a lot of potential to become the next big thing on the European nightlife scene.
Blanco is already proving popular with celebrities. Footballer Rio Ferdinand was spotted there with his reality TV show girlfriend and family in August.
White told Business Insider that from a business perspective beach clubs are more lucrative than nightclubs. "In a nightclub you have two hours to make money, between 10 and 12, in a beach club you've got 12-12 -- thats five times more."
The outdoor club also has a Mediterranean fusion restaurant, which serves up fresh seafood and sushi.
A self-confessed workaholic, White said that he never sleeps more than four to five hours a night. He told Business Insider his routine is pretty much 'wake up, work, work, work, gym.'
But he's not afraid of rewarding his hard work. He loves a bit of bling...
...And the odd pair of Louboutins.
He stays in some pretty cool hotels...
...And has been known to charter helicopters to Formula One races on the odd occasion.
And there's little he enjoys more than setting sail on his very own boat.
He told Business Insider: "I like to travel as much as possible, to sail around the Aegean, Mykonos, and the Algarve."
He's not done investing in Portugal yet -- he's in the process of renovating an apartment block in Portim?o and is already eyeing up new business endeavours in the property and hospitality sectors elsewhere in the Algarve. He's also looking at fine dining and nightclub opportunities in Lisbon.
He added that while Blanco is his "baby" at the moment, he wants to push it so that it can become a beach club brand. He'd love to open a club somewhere else in 2018.
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Read the original article on Business Insider UK. ? 2017. Follow Business Insider UK on Twitter.
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