Brainwave: Neurosurgeon Henry Marsh
Neurosurgeon Henry Marsh says the only reason he wrote a book (and became a bestselling author) was because of his wife.
The 73-year-old author of Do No Harm: Stories Of Life, Death And Brain Surgery is married to anthropologist and author Kate Fox.
He tells Donna Ferguson he divides his time between properties in Oxford and London and recently gave up his car to live more economically, as a matter of principle.
What did your parents teach you about money?
To avoid extravagance and debt. I grew up in Oxford, the youngest of four children. My father was a human rights lawyer and subsequently one of the first Law Commissioners. My mother was a political refugee from Nazi Germany and was very involved in setting up and running Amnesty International, as a volunteer. In fact, both my parents were involved with the charity, right from the start.
Although my father didn’t have a large income, we lived well within his means and were comfortable.
Have you ever struggled to make ends meet?
No – through a combination of a good income as a surgeon, luck and my upbringing. I did PPE (Philosophy, Politics and Economics) at Oxford, then studied medicine in London, after taking a couple of gap years when I volunteered for a charity overseas in Africa. I didn’t start earning regularly as a doctor until I was almost 30.
But I was supported by my first wife and also by my father. I got a student grant, too, which would not be easy to obtain nowadays.
When were the best years of your financial life?
The mid to late 1990s when I only did a few hours a week of private work and mainly worked for the NHS.
My private practice was very lucrative and I probably doubled my NHS income with private work for a few years. I stopped all private work several years before I retired, eight years ago, at the age of 65.
What made you write your bestseller – Do No Harm?
I’ve kept a diary all my life and when Kate and I got together (after the end of my first marriage 25 years ago), she would ask me what I had been doing at work and I would read her bits of my diary.
I wrote it because I had a compulsion to describe to myself what I was doing. But she told me it ought to be a book and sent me to see her literary agent, who was very enthusiastic. And then it took off. I never expected it to be so successful. It was only after I read the reviews that I realised I’d written something rather unusual.
The most expensive thing you’ve bought for fun?
A black 1959 Jaguar XK150 which I bought 15 years ago for £27,000. I had it rebuilt in Poland and resprayed British racing green. The purists would criticise me for doing that.
I soon realised classic cars were not for me, and sold it fairly quickly for £60,000, just about covering my costs. If I had kept it, it would probably be worth more than £100,000 today.
What is your biggest money mistake?
Buying and renovating a derelict Victorian lock keeper’s cottage on the canal near Oxford.
There was no road access and a garden full of rubbish. I bought it because I wanted to keep busy and have something practical to do in my spare time. I did much of the building work myself. It took me years and I spent far more money on it than I got back. But I sold it to my sister-in-law, so it’s still in the family and I don’t regret losing a huge sum of money on the project.
It was worth it. I gave the beautiful old building a new life.
Advice: Marsh’s wife, Kate Fox
The best money decision you have made?
To buy only the most expensive tools for my woodwork activities. I make furniture or anything that needs to be made, mainly for family and friends.
During lockdown, I began two very elaborate, tall doll houses for my granddaughters, which took me two or three years.
Do you have a pension?
I have an NHS pension and a private pension, and I also earn royalties for my writing.
Over the years I’ve withdrawn money from my pension pot to help my children buy their own homes. That used up quite a lot of money. A firm of financial advisers manages my investments and I take little interest in what happens to my money.
Do you own any property?
I own a four-bedroom house in Wimbledon and a one-bed flat in Oxford. When my marriage to my first wife ended, I kept my house in London to be near my children and grandchildren. Now I live with Kate in Oxford two or three days a week and divide my time between the two cities.
I commute by train, because I recently stopped owning a car. I now bicycle everywhere or use public transport. I am increasingly trying to live economically, as a matter of principle, but without great success. Kate is sceptical about my decision to give up my car, which was written off in an accident a few weeks ago but I am optimistic. I reckon hiring a car for maybe a total of four weeks a year will still be a little cheaper than owning a car.
If you were Chancellor what would you do?
Introduce a one-off wealth tax on property or some kind of ‘mansion tax’ to put NHS funding on a good footing.
Tax-funded state medicine – if properly funded – is by far the most cost-effective and equitable way of distributing healthcare. It’s also a hugely important cement to keep society functioning and, I think, a price wealthy people should be willing to pay.
It is in all our interests that everybody should be treated well.
Do you donate money to charity?
Yes and I have started a charity called Hospice Ukraine with palliative care doctor Rachel Clarke to support our colleagues in Ukraine.
What is your number one financial priority?
To live within my means and have no debts.
- Henry Marsh’s latest book, And Finally: Matters Of Life And Death, is out now. See also hospiceukraine.com
