Whilst working at Michelin he also ran a corner shop and started a mail order business selling clothing to motorcyclists.
[7] It took 8 months to sell these 26 phones to local plumbers, taxi drivers and television repairmen at a price of £2,500 each.
In 1999, Caudwell was appointed as the president of the North Staffordshire branch of the NSPCC, and became the regional representative for the Full Stop campaign.
[1] In October 2011, he made a "significant" six-figure donation to Middleport Pottery (one of the last working Victorian pot banks in Britain) in Stoke-on-Trent, through the Prince's Regeneration Trust.
[14] In October 2012, Caudwell was one of three principal private donors for the London's Bomber Command Memorial Appeal.
[15] In February 2013, he became one of the first Britons to sign up for Bill Gates and Warren Buffett's Giving Pledge, which calls on billionaires to commit at least half their wealth to charity during their lifetime.
[23][24] He also gave interviews stating that he and many other wealthy individuals would leave the UK if the Labour Party gained power and increased taxes.
[29] On Brexit, he is reported to have called UK politicians “lily-livered” and the EU “Brussels bully boys”.
They’re trembling.”[29] In 2023, Caudwell described the weakening of green policies by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak as “madness” and said he would consider switching his support to Labour.
[30] In 2015, Caudwell claimed that 11 family members including himself, his ex-wife Kate McFarlane, their two daughters and their son had been diagnosed with chronic Lyme disease, a noted pseudoscience belief.
[30][34][32] In 2018, Caudwell pledged to donate more than one million pounds in order to help fund Lyme disease research, on the condition that the NHS would be able to match his investment.
Caudwell lives in multiple homes including Broughton Hall in Staffordshire, Monaco and London's Mayfair[39][40]