Peter Andre hit the big time at 16 and nearly squandered his new-found riches. Now he says he's lucky to have a wife who wants him to spend LESS, not more...
Singer, songwriter and actor Peter Andre was born in the UK in 1973 and brought up in Australia by Cypriot parents. In 1989 he hit the big time at 16 when he won a AU$146,000 recording contract after appearing on Australian talent show New Faces. Worldwide tours and a string of number one singles and albums followed, including Gimme Little Sign and Mysterious Girl.
In 2004, Peter appeared on I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!, where he met his future wife, Katie Price. His success on the show brought a legion of new fans and propelled a reissued Mysterious Girl to the top of the UK charts.
Peter, 51, has two children, Junior, 19, and Princess, 17, with former wife Katie and now lives in Surrey with second wife Dr Emily MacDonagh and their three children Amelia, ten, Theo, eight, and Arabella, seven months.
What did your parents teach you about money?
I was brought up by grafters, with my dad, Savvas, a barber before getting into property developing and my mum, Thea, a full-time tailor who had six kids. When I signed my first record deal and money started coming in, I remember Dad warning me that one day it may dry up, so invest, invest, invest. Of course, as a teenager you're not thinking of investments – you're thinking of partying.
Dad had oversight of my finances at that time and, without me knowing, had been investing my royalties in property for me. I was so grateful because there came a point where I'd blown all my money and told him.
That's when he revealed I then owned three properties. That was the best lesson of my life. From then on I tried to live a more simple life and I've been an avid investor in property ever since.
I'm a very strict parent and I've told my children they have to graft if they want to get on in life.
Peter Andre in a swimming pool in 1996, when his song Mysterious Girl was generating attention
Ever been paid silly money?
Loads of times when I've done private gigs. The interesting thing is that even when I was flown out to parties in Europe, I never asked how much I was getting. I just always wanted to do the work. However, when I bothered to ask my management, I'd invariably be pleasantly surprised at how much I was getting.
What year do you think was the best of your financial life?
As I've continually invested in properties – both here in the UK and in Cyprus – I think every year is better than the last.
The most expensive thing you bought for fun?
I feel really embarrassed about saying this, but I went through a very silly period of buying flash cars. I remember buying a Ferrari and going into the showroom a few months later to buy a Lamborghini – and even the salesman tried to warn me off.
Now, here I am with my electric family car. I do love cars, though, so I won't rule out buying another monster again, but the days of me sitting there revving the engine are gone. I feel embarrassed at the thought of it.
What was your biggest money mistake?
I've made many, but the biggest was probably flying friends first-class and just squandering so much on silly stuff – from clothes to cars. Don't get me wrong, I still sometimes spend more than I should.
When we fly to Australia, I want to go business class, but Emily insists on economy because you land at the same time regardless of your seat, but you've just spent a lot of extra cash. So we have these little battles, with me acknowledging that she's quite right, but I want to travel business class for the comfort of our family.
Sometimes I win, but mostly Emily prevails. How lucky am I to have a wife who pushes me to spend less rather than more?
The best money decision you have made?
My dad really wanted to buy this little beach resort near Brisbane, and he wanted me to invest in it so I'd not squander the money that I was making on something silly. Anyway, I put quite a lot of money into this resort and we had people running it for a while.
But then they left when I was on a world tour, so poor mum and dad had to come out of retirement to manage it. My family all went back to help for a while, but we couldn't sustain it, and eventually, we sold up.
We didn't lose or gain money, so it might not sound like much of a financial win, but I got to go into business with my dad and that's why it was so special.
Peter Andre with his wife, Dr Emily MacDonagh
Do you own any property?
We live in Surrey and also own a five-bedroom villa in Larnaca, Cyprus, which we mostly rent out but go to for a family holiday every year.
I also have other properties in Australia, Cyprus and around the UK, which I rent out.
I buy properties for investment, but I never sell and wouldn't unless I had to. The only time I'd willingly sell would be if I were moving home.
Do you have a pension?
I see my property portfolio as my pension – and it will go to my family eventually.
What is your number one financial priority?
Stability for the family. I'd love to get to the stage in life where we can travel the world and see all the places I never really saw when I was on tour.
But a bigger priority than that is stability for the kids, and I want them to carry on with my property investing and gift it to their children.
Tickets for Peter Andre: The Best Of Frankie Valli And The Four Seasons are available at fourseasonsshow.com for the January to March 2025 UK tour.
