Big Interview with John P Calamos: From grocery store to asset giant

BIG INTERVIEW

In London to open new UK offices, John P Calamos talks to Lawrence Gosling and Sean Flynn about the lessons he has learned on his journey from above an immigrant grocery store to managing assets in excess of $32bn.

From humble beginnings as the son of Greek immigrants, to the Forbes Rich List; it has been quite a journey for John P Calamos Sr over the past 40-odd years (and that is even before we talk about flying B52s over Vietnam). His biography reads like a testimonial for the great American capitalist dream. From an early age, he was enthralled by the business of making money. He recounts one of the defining events which shaped the direction his future would take. “I had always been interested in the markets from when I was a kid of maybe 16 or 17,” he recalls. “I found a box with some old s...