•Kate Stewart left school with no qualifications and had a baby at 17
•She’s now a wealthy businesswoman with ‘empire’ of beauty salons
•Spends £1,000 a night on hotel suites for business trips
•Uses ‘designer wardrobe room service’ so she doesn’t have to pack
•Loves to spend her money on diamonds as a show of wealth.
Businesswoman Kate Stewart is so rich she prefers to pay for designer clothes to be delivered to her hotel when she goes away rather than pack a suitcase.
The multi-millionaire, 33, from Liverpool, thinks spending £242,000 on diamonds is ‘a bargain’ and loves to flaunt her wealth with her expensive tastes.
The mother-of-three, who appears on How The Other Half Lives, says she is not ashamed of her extravagant spending as she has worked hard for everything she has after starting from nothing.
‘I left school with no qualifications and had a normal, dead-end job paying £2.50 an hour,’ she told the show’s presenters.
“I got pregnant at 17 and the destiny written for me was “you are going to claim benefits and have more kids”. Everyone wrote me off and I thought “no” and came back fighting. That gave me the drive to achieve.”
Kate said it was initially hard to get people to give her a chance but worked as a secretary while studying for a business and management degree, alongside raising her daughter, Caitlin, now 15.
Recalling her career ascent, she said: ‘‘I did my education at the same time while I was a single mum. I did a degree and ended up running a company and then invested my money correctly so I built up my own empire.’
Kate said she started out with nothing but built up an empire of tanning and beauty salons after getting a business degree and making wise investments
Her ‘empire’ included owning tanning shops and beauty salons and she made her first million 10 years ago.
She went on to own Liverpool’s Heritage Market while expanding her businesses and making other wise investments.
Now she can afford to travel with only toiletries when she goes on business trips to the capital to save herself the time and inconvenience of packing clothes.
She pays £1,000 a night to stay in a suite at the W Hotel in London where they offer the ‘designer wardrobe room service’.
“I like to travel light and not have loads of suitcases, and by the time you get here the clothes would all be creased and need to be steamed,” she explained.
She goes online and chooses the outfits she wants for her various meetings, lunches, client dinners and charity balls, and they are all waiting in her wardrobe when she checks in.
Kate, pictured wearing her designer clothes, heels and accessories, said she doesn’t get embarrassed by her extravagant spending as she has worked hard for everything she has.
Kate’s ‘empire’ included owning tanning shops and beauty salons and she made her first million ten years ago
“With the outfits already being here, it is so much easier and it is like being Cinderella trying them all on,’ she said.
“I have gone online picked what I wanted and then it is all here so all I have to travel with is toiletries.
“Every second is accounted for, time management is key in my life. This is just so much easier for me.’
Kate, a mother of three, believes ‘image is paramount’ so she is keen to make the right impression with her choice of outfit and show of wealth.
‘It is not about being looked at, it is about being remembered,’ she said.
“I feel like a kid in a sweet shop!’ she exclaimed as she tried on a 38-carat £80,000 diamond necklace.
In the end she opted to spend £242,000 on a diamond bangle declaring it ‘a bargain.’
She said that getting dressed up in expensive clothes and adorning herself in gems is her ‘armour’ in the business world.
She explained: “I don’t get embarrassed by my spending, I have worked for everything I have got and I am proud of everything I buy.
“Sometimes nice clothing and jewellery is your armour, you put your amour on and go out and you are almost playing a role, it makes me feel more confident.’”
Kate admits her lifestyle now is a far cry from her humble beginnings.
Kate revealed: “I don’t get embarrassed by my spending, I have worked for everything I have got and I am proud of everything I buy’ ‘Sometimes nice clothing and jewellery is your armour, you put your armour on and go out and you are almost playing a role, it makes me feel more confident,’ said Kate as she snapped up items of luxury jewellery.
She is now married to Graham, with whom she had twins Graydon and Grayson in September 2014.
Sadly, the couple lost a previous baby six months into Kate’s pregnancy so this time she took no chances, having regular private check ups and hiring her own midwife.
She then booked an elective c-section at the Women’s private Catharine Medical Centre in Liverpool.
She told the Liverpool Echo the money she spent on her sons’ safe delivery was the best she has ever spent.
She said: “I didn’t care about the cost, I’d have gone without food or without anything in my life, I’d have sold everything just to ensure that my children were well and born safely.
“I don’t go out every weekend, I don’t drink, so I spent that money instead on the well-being of my pregnancy and I’m glad I did.”
“Now I look at my babies’ two faces every morning and know it’s the best thing I could ever have done.’”
Kate is back at work now, the boys are a year old and had a busy round of meetings and presentations on the day she met Eamonn and Ruth to feature on their show investigating ‘how the other half lives’.
Asked if she has ever attempted to drop her heavy Scouse accent, she replied: “I am who I am, Eamonn, and I am proud of where I came from.
“People always underestimate me and assume I don’t know what I am talking about, but as soon as I do a presentation or start speaking in business, you can see the shock on their face.”
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