John Robert Madejski, born Robert John Hurst on April 28 1941 in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, is a British businessman, mainly active in publishing and the hotel industry. As of 2004, he is in the top 200 wealthiest people in the UK, with a net worth said to be in the region of £305 million (see Sunday Times Rich List 2004). He changed his name when his father, a Polish airman during World War II, returned to Britain to marry his mother.
Madejski became chairman of Football League club Reading F.C. in 1990, and has given his name to the club's Madejski Stadium, built in 1998 with £25 million largely contributed by him. He is also a benefactor to the Royal Academy of Arts in Piccadilly, London and in 2004 had the John Madejski Fine Rooms named after him in recognition of a contribution of £3 million to the institution. The John Madejski Centre for Reputation at Henley Management College , a lecture theatre at the University of Reading and a gallery at the Museum of Reading also bear his name. Madejski is active in politics: he has contributed extensively to the Conservative Party and was vociferous in his calls for the removal of the then party leader Iain Duncan Smith in 2003.
While on holiday in Florida in the mid 1970s Madejski saw a car sales magazine that included pictures of the vehicles on sale. He immediately realised the potential of the idea, and founded Thames Valley Trader in 1976. Initially the magazine sold anything and everything, from houses to cars and even aircraft, but it soon concentrated solely on vehicles, and was renamed Auto Trader. In 1998 he sold his company Hurst Publishing for £174 million.
In 2000 he was awarded the OBE in "recognition of his contribution to Reading Football Club and the Reading community". He is also Deputy Lieutenant of Berkshire.
He owns a large number of luxury cars, owning a couple of Rolls-Royces, two Bentleys, four Jaguars, an AC Cobra and a pair of Ferraris, including a red Testarossa which sits inside a glass case in the gym of his home.
Madejski has two children, but has never married. He made front-page headlines in UK tabloid newspapers in October 2004 due to his alleged romantic attachment with singer and TV star Cilla Black. The pair became friends due to their mutual affiliation with the Conservative Party.
