Sanjay Shah of Autism Rocks on Prince records, collecting stamps and the yacht he should have rented – as Bernie Ecclestone advised.
With their youngest son diagnosed with autism, British financier Mr Shah and his wife set up and manage the Autism Rocks Support Centre.
It has since organised concerts with Prince, Lenny Kravitz and Gary Barlow and has the naming rights for the Autism Rocks Arena next to Dubai Outlet Mall. The 47-year-old also runs a hedge fund company based in Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), which has diversified into restaurants, movies and real estate.
What do you most regret spending money on?
I regret buying my yacht. It cost £1 million (Dh4.95 million) and, like a brand-new car, you’ve lost half the value as soon as you try to sell it. It’s moored on the Palm Jumeirah, not far from us, and I have a licence to sail but it’s far enough that we have to drive to it in summer, remember to take food and drink with us, hire a captain and deck hand for the day if I don’t want to sail myself and plan around the kids’ activities at the weekend. What should be an hour or two on the water turns into a four-hour exercise – it’s not spur of the moment – and we are using it a lot less than I thought. It’s for sale but no one is buying. Bernie Ecclestone, the former Formula One chief executive, once famously said that if it flies or floats, rent it. I should listen to him next time.
Sanjay Shah, Autism Rocks
Read the full story at The National – originally published in October 2017.