Male entertainer Will Parfitt: I spent £100k in ten days in Dubai treating my parents

Will Parfitt is one of the biggest male entertainment personalities on social media with more than 17 million following his career.

The Croydon born performer, 36, started his career while backpacking in Australia, taking on odd jobs before being invited to perform by a nightclub promoter - helped by his resemblance to US actor Channing Tatum.

Parfitt built up a following online before creating Magic Men.

The multi-million pound male entertainment show now plays in arenas across North America, Asia and Europe.

Parfitt is single and lives in Melbourne, where he employs 130 people and also has a home in the UK.

What did your parents teach you about money?

I owe my family so much. Mum, Lesley, 67, and dad, Trevor, 69, were both incredibly hard workers, but there was never any shortage of love for my sister and I, Charlotte.

We grew up in a small semi-detached house in Croydon. Dad worked as a carpenter, while Mum worked at the Treasury before moving into an administrative role at the local magistrates' court.

They both instilled in me the importance of having a strong work ethic and taught me that, if I wanted something in life, I would have to work hard and strive for it.

They also taught me the importance of saving, although for them that meant putting their earnings into a savings account. I save in a different way - by putting my money into property.

Have you ever struggled to make ends meet?

After leaving school I wasn`t sure what I wanted to do but I knew I wanted to earn money, see the world and to become a success – without having a clear idea about what form that would take.

So I lived at home and worked various jobs such as night shifts in the local supermarket. At 23 I had around £1,000 in the bank and set off backpacking in Australia, living in hostels and getting work where I could.

My savings didn`t last long and there were times when I barely had enough to live on. I remember one weekend being down to my last tenner – and as it was a bank holiday I knew I just had to wait it out until I was paid.

Have you ever been paid silly money?

Since Magic Men took off, I feel like I get paid silly money all the time. I have to pinch myself for what I earn.

After a six week European tour this year, for example, I was able to put down half the money on a one million pound, five bedroom penthouse in Melbourne where I now live.

I do believe in investing in property and to produce a rental income. But this was somewhere I can call home. It has amazing views of the city, there`s a pool in the building and I just had to have it.

What was the best year of your financial life?

Definitely the last year, if not two years. I toured for nine months during that time - travelling across north America, Canada, Europe and Scandinavia.

The combination of ticket prices and merchandise is incredibly lucrative.

One show in Oslo alone netted a profit of £250,000. That said, it`s all a gamble.

You can book a venue and then worry that you might not break even because the investment cost is great. In those moments I get flashbacks to my backpacker days when I had so little.

That said, my philosophy is you can bite off more than you can chew, you just have to learn how to chew it.

The most expensive thing you have bought for fun?

I spent £100,000 on ten days in Dubai because I wanted to take Mum and Dad on a dream holiday.

I owe them so much, and because I live so far away in Melbourne - they live in Norfolk - it was a wonderful way of spending time with them.

We stayed at the Royal Atlantis and was worth every penny since I wanted to make those moments really special for my parents. Although Dad did joke we could have gone to Skegness instead!

My watch is probably my most expensive individual purchase – it`s an Audemars Piguet, which cost £60,000. I'd always wanted one and, after nine months of touring, I decided I should buy myself a gift.

What is your biggest money mistake?

Knowing who the right people are to go into business with is critical in any successful enterprise. I do now.

But when I first started Magic Men there was a lot to learn. We worked with one promotor in the early days of touring who was fudging the numbers and we lost a couple of hundred thousand pounds – which was awful.

Finding promoters you can trust when you travel to different countries is something I`ve had to learn.

Best money decision you have made?

Enabling my mum to retire. When dad retired about four years ago she was some way off from being able to collect her pension – state and private - and I wanted my parents to finish work at the same time so they could enjoy retirement together.

So I arranged a structured financial plan so that mum would receive the equivalent amount to her pension and give up work.

Will you pass your money down or spend it all?

I`m not married and don`t have kids but would like to one day. I believe in generational wealth.

That`s why I invest so much in a property portfolio so that it will all be there to pass on.

Do you have a pension?

In Australia, they call it superannuation, where you put money into a pension fund. I've never had that.

For me, property and investments are my pension and long-term security. I've set things up so that, over the next two or three years, I'll be in a position where, if I wanted to stop working, I could.

My goal is that by the time I'm 40, I'll never have to work again – or rather have the option not to.

Do you own any property?

I now have a £10 million property portfolio, comprising my penthouse, six apartments in Australia and a £500,000 bungalow in East Anglia.

Aside from the penthouse, all of the properties are rented and generate an income.

I've always had an eye for creating wealth through property. When I stretched myself to buy my first apartment four years ago, I deliberately chose a flat in a desirable area because I knew that, at some point, I would want to rent it out.

I wasn't simply buying somewhere to live; I was thinking about its long-term potential.

If you were Chancellor, what would you do?

My priority would be to help small businesses and entrepreneurs. I would reduce the tax burden on them and create an environment where they feel encouraged to take risks, invest and grow, because they are the engine room of the economy.

Having a great idea is one thing; turning that idea into a successful business and building something from nothing is incredibly difficult. 

If we genuinely want to encourage ambition, entrepreneurship and private enterprise, then the Government has a responsibility to create the conditions in which people can succeed.

We also need to think carefully about how heavily we tax those who have already achieved success.

I have so many friends in England who are considering leaving because they feel the tax burden has become too high.

What is your number one financial priority?

I'm at a point where I feel secure, but my priority is making sure I have enough to leave for my future family and to look after my mum and dad.

What could be more important than looking after the people you love.

Magic Men is on tour in nationwide venues across the UK with tickets are on sale.