MICHAEL SPENCER admits that he was never a “natural employee”. And there is evidence to prove it — he was sacked from his first job as a stockbroker for spending too much time gambling with his own money, and sacked from his second job for hiding a trading error.
However Mr Spencer, 49, described by one of his peers as “dazzlingly bright” and by others as somewhere between “ruthless” and “determined”, went on to build Icap from its launch in 1986 with a staff of three into the world’s largest inter-dealer broker. Yesterday it emerged that the Icap boss — thought to be the City’s richest man — took home £9.6 million last year. The executive, the son of a civil servant, entered the City in the mid-1970s after reading physics at Oxford. As well as his 23 per cent stake in Icap, he owns stakes in City Index, the spread-betting business, and Numis, the stockbroker.
Spencer lives in Holland Park, West London, and has a country house in Suffolk. In his spare time he adds to his art collection and enjoys his cars. His boat sank four years ago. He and his wife, Lorraine, have three children.