A SELF-made millionaire who flunked out of school with no qualifications and can’t write has surprised his wife with a £320,000 Ferrari.
Self-defence specialist and former bodyguard for Michael Jackson, Matt Fiddes, 44, built his multi-million pound empire from scratch – but admits he was a victim of bullying, failed every school exam he took and still can’t write.
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Refusing to give up on his future he became a master of martial arts and was then employed to look after some of the world’s biggest stars, before opening his own martial arts business that’s now valued at £120million.
He credits his wife Monique as being the “hard working” woman behind him and showed his appreciation by shelling out hundreds of thousands of pounds on the yellow Ferrari spider F8.
Matt, who lives in Devon, said: “Moniqe deserves it – she’s got to put up with me and my mad world.
“It’s true that behind every successful man there is a hard working woman, and behind the scenes my wife has to support me running our companies and our growing property portfolio.
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“Taking phone calls and working through the night – as well as being a amazing mother to all my six children.
“The last Ferrari I bought for her to celebrate our 11th wedding anniversary – so I have spent £600,000 in supercar’s for my wife within eight months and a brand new V class £77,000 Mercedes as a family car.”
Matt said this is the family’s fourth Ferrari, which he bought from the same store in Exeter that sold him his first Ferrari F355 – at just 20-years-old.
He added: “They never doubted me then and the same staff are still around all these years later.
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“Unlike the Ferrari showroom that refused to serve me because I was wearing a tracksuit – they missed out big time.”
Matt opened his martial arts business with just £100 – and it was recently valued at £120million, with the largest privately owned portfolio in Devon.
Coming from humble beginnings, the wealthy businessman dropped out of school and admitted that he failed all of his exams and to this day still can’t write.
He was bullied at school which prompted him to take up martial arts, achieving a 7th degree black belt master in taekwondo, as well as black belts in Kung fu and kickboxing.
Shortly after he was introduced to the now-deceased popstar Michael Jackson through celeb pal Uri Geller, and became the king of pop’s personal security detail for more than a decade.
He claims to have provided security services to “numerous celebrity clientele including actors, supermodels and singers” and in 2019 was employed by Katie Price as her personal trainer.
The tycoon has now amassed a networth of £120million and admits to using his platform to inspire kids who may not be hitting their grades at school and “motivate” them as he was in the same position before building his empire.
It was reported last year that Matt was refused service in a Ferrari dealership because they “didn’t like his outfit” after trotting around the showroom in a tracksuit.
At the time, he said: “If I had turned up in a suit and tie or been 20 years older, it probably would have been a different story, or if I had walked in with Michael Jackson back in the day.
“I was prepared to blow between £400,000 and £500,000 on two cars.
“It’s a lesson in why you shouldn’t prejudge people because they lost the sale of two cars.”
Last May the tycoon dropped £300,000 on a Lamborghini Aventador, the same model that’s owned by Manchester United and Brazil football player, Antony.
But more recently, the martial arts specialist revealed that it’s “almost impossible” to fight off XL bully dogs, telling concerned members of the public they have two options if attacked by the deadly dog breed.
He said: “The trouble with a breed like that is that honestly, even if you’re Bruce Lee, you’re screwed.
”If you’re fighting them with your bare hands, you lose. They’re so tenacious, they’ll fight you like a tiger.”
Adding to his wife’s now £600,000 car collection, the yellow Ferrari spider F8 will sit beside his cluster of supercars which he shows off to “motivate” his followers to chase their dreams.
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