Felix Dennis, RIP: billionaire addict. They take risks the rest of us shy away from and sometimes that risk-taking works.
Felix Dennis, dead of throat cancer at 67. Dennis was a British publisher who pioneered computer and hobbyist magazine publishing in the United Kingdom, and more recently published Maxim and The Week. The addictionologist in us would suggest his addiction caused him to take risks others wouldn’t and, in doing so successfully, become immensely wealthy (Dennis’ estimated worth at death: nearly $1.3 billion). He undoubtedly was a full-on addict. By his own admission, he blew $100 million in one decade on drugs, drink and women and had 14 mistresses on his personal payroll.
Every addict has their stories of craziness or pure dumb luck. In 1970, Dennis and two other editors invited twenty 14- to 18-year-old children to “guest” edit an issue of Oz, a British magazine. The kids included a sexually explicit Rupert the Bear cartoon strip, which resulted in all three editors’ arrests on morals charges, as well as the longest obscenity trial in UK history. The three were convicted on two offences, with Dennis receiving a more lenient sentence because he was, in the judge’s opinion, “much less intelligent” than the others and, therefore, less culpable. The convictions were later quashed on appeal.
This “much less intelligent” individual went on in the early ‘70s to found Kung-Fu Monthly after he saw kids queuing in Soho at 9 am to watch Bruce Lee films. He launched Computer Shopper, a pioneering magazine he eventually sold to Bill Ziff. He insisted on focusing on subscriptions as opposed to newsstand sales, insulating his magazines from the sharp declines that wreaked havoc on the newsstand-dependent rags. The bulk of his wealth was created by co-founding MicroWarehouse in 1987, which pioneered direct IT marketing via high quality catalogues. The company went public in 1992 and sold to a private investment group in 2000.
Of course, it’s entirely possible—and perverse—that Dennis may never have taken the risks that helped him to become immensely wealthy were he not an egomaniacal alcohol and other-drug addict. In addition, were he not an addict he may not have been able to tap into the emotional needs of others. Lucky addicts can get immensely wealthy and, in fact, may impel addicts to get wealthy. However, don’t get any ideas: the unlucky ones end up on the street, or dead.