Most people dream of being mentored by a billionaire. Samuel Leeds has learned from several, from Lord Sugar to Grant Cardone – and in some cases paid hundreds of thousands of pounds for the privilege. Each encounter left him with a lesson that reshaped his business, his mindset, and his life.
Leeds says the logic is simple: “Billionaires risk millions to become billionaires. Millionaires risk hundreds of thousands to become millionaires. But broke people want to risk nothing and invest nothing and still get rich. It doesn’t work like that.”
That philosophy has guided him to deliberately invest time and money into billionaire mentors. Here’s what he learned along the way.
Lord Bob Edmiston – purpose and faith
The first billionaire Leeds connected with was Lord Bob Edmiston, through a Christian entrepreneur programme called The Lions.
“Seeing a billionaire give his time to mentor others because it brought him joy was life-changing for me,” says Leeds. “It showed me you can hold your faith, values, and business together. If Lord Bob could be a billionaire and still humble, generous, and committed to his faith, then I could do the same.”
That same spirit of generosity underpins the charitable work of the Samuel Leeds Foundation today. It was also The Lion’s programme that encouraged Leeds to want to set up an education company, teaching others about financial freedom in an ethical way.
Lord Sugar – practical growth
Next came Lord Sugar, with whom Leeds sat in on a private round table in 2017. At the time, Leeds was focused mainly on residential property.
“Lord Sugar told me to look at fully repairing and insuring leases, the kind of passive, long-term deals that let you scale bigger. That advice completely changed how I structured parts of my portfolio,” Leeds recalls.
Nana Kwame Bediako – hotels and friendship
Leeds later travelled to Ghana, where he met Nana Kwame Bediako, also known as Jacob Caesar or “Cheddar” – a billionaire property and hotel developer. The two spent a full day together and have stayed in touch ever since.
“Nana showed me how to get into the hotel business using serviced apartments alongside hotels. I tested it in Ghana, saw it worked, then replicated it big in the UK. Now I’m looking to do the same in Dubai. Nana is not just my billionaire mentor, but now a friend.”
Henry Moser – relationships that finance growth
Closer to home, Henry Moser, founder of Together Finance, first came across Leeds after seeing him featured in a Manchester newspaper. Curious, he invited Leeds for lunch.
That meeting led to a business relationship: Together Finance went on to help fund one of Leeds’s hotel acquisitions.
“It shows the power of not just information but also relationships,” Leeds says. “It’s not just what you know, it’s who you know. Having a major financier like Together back one of my projects is proof of that.”
Grant Cardone – leaning into controversy
One of the boldest moves Leeds ever made was paying Grant Cardone, the American real estate mogul, £250,000 for private mentoring.
“Grant helped me scale up my property business absolutely, but more than anything, I learned about marketing,” says Leeds.
“He told me not to be vanilla. Lean into it. If people are talking about you, even if it’s criticism, that’s engagement. That perspective helped me become thick-skinned and use press attention to grow rather than shy away from it.”
Gerald Ratner – what not to do
For Leeds, lessons also came from those who had fallen as well as risen. He invited Gerald Ratner, who lost his multi-billion-dollar jewellery empire after his infamous “cr*p” speech, to teach at his academy.
“People don’t just need to know how to make money, they need to know how to keep it,” says Leeds. “Gerald gave us invaluable lessons in resilience and what not to do in business. Having him teach my students was a reminder that mistakes can be just as educational as successes.”
Others who have crossed paths
Along the way, other high-profile figures have also spent time with Leeds. The $50 Billion Dollar Man, Dan Peña, visited him at his home in Buckinghamshire for an afternoon. While staying at the Royal Atlantis in Dubai, Leeds was visited by Andrew Tate.
“Whether you agree with their styles or not, the fact that these kinds of people take the time to connect says something,” he says.
A philosophy of learning
For Leeds, the common thread in all these encounters is simple: keep learning from people ahead of you.
“I’ve invested hundreds of thousands into billionaire mentors. What I gained was not just strategies, but mindset, resilience, and purpose. And now I’m passing that on to my academy members, so they can benefit from the same wisdom without having to spend what I did.”
From Lord Edmiston’s faith-driven mentoring to Lord Sugar’s property strategies, Nana Bediako’s hotel vision, Henry Moser’s financial backing, Grant Cardone’s resilience in the spotlight, and Gerald Ratner’s cautionary tale, Leeds has absorbed lessons from a spectrum of business giants.
It’s a reminder that building wealth isn’t about standing still, it’s about continually learning from those who have gone further.