Barnaby Crompton left school at 17 to work in real estate in the UK and then in the UAE. Mr Crompton now mostly specialises in Emirates Hills, where he sold the exclusive Dubai district’s most expensive property for Dh210 million ($57.18 million) in 2022.
The Briton moved to the UAE in 2008 and launched Crompton Partners in 2012. Later, he created Crompton Saltini Real Estate with two Dubai businessman.
Mr Crompton deals with successful individuals, including political figures, Bollywood stars and tycoons, but experienced a blip when an agency he worked for failed amid the 2007-2008 global recession.
Now 41, he lives in Jumeirah Village Triangle with his wife and their children, aged 7 and 2.
Did wealth feature in your upbringing?
My parents have been wealthy and poor in my lifetime, and became wealthy again. They owned a furniture shop in England, where I was born, then moved to Portugal, where we lived in a caravan for six months on a beach.
By the time we left Portugal, my father owned a building company, mum and dad owned a commercial launderette and mum sold timeshares.
In nine years, they went from a caravan to having three houses on a hillside, building another one, and became very wealthy in Portuguese terms.
Then we moved to England and my parents separated. They have been through boom and bust. Maybe it’s in my DNA.
When did you learn to earn?
My mum bought a house in Oxford that went from three-up, two-down to being six bedrooms with an extension and conservatory. Part of how she made money was to run a B&B.
The first bed I made and breakfast I served, I was probably 12. We didn’t really get paid because that was part of the income for the house.
We also had a job sheet and at the end of the week, you got pocket money, £2.50 (Dh11). Mum needed help and what better way to motivate kids?
When I was 13, she said, “Get a job, do a paper round”. Ever since, I’ve known that to get money, you have to earn it.
Was cash important during your youth?
Money for me has been freedom, an opportunity to do what I want. It would be in one day, out the next day, but that day was the most liberating.
Then you realise you’re out of cash again and get back to work. My laissez-faire attitude towards money I earned in those days has probably given me more grounding as I get older.
How did you start in real estate?
I was diagnosed as dyslexic. My last day of school came around, I sat down with my mum, who said, “You’re living under my roof, you’re paying your way”.
At the time, she had a portfolio of 20 houses built up, while she was studying to be a midwife.
She said: “You don’t need qualifications to be an estate agent, just do that until you figure out what you want to do.”
Have you ever worried about paying bills?
My brother and I had this big house in London. I was struggling to pay my share of the mortgage.
I took a sabbatical from the estate agency to work in the catering industry … you live beyond your means when you’re twentysomething.
Then, about six months after having moved here, I was living in a shared flat and I wasn’t making any money.
I got here in September 2008, earned about Dh25,000 in the first three weeks. When the global financial crisis hit, the phone never rang, the market dropped 50 per cent.
What lesson emerged from that?
You have to have rainy day money.
That was probably the second time I realised that. At 28, you’re full of the hubris of life and money just gets spent. Life is about having a good time and then the world is telling you that you need to be in a position where, if you don’t earn for six months, you’re going to be all right.
It shapes the way you perceive your income, especially in our industry if you don’t sell anything.
Do you still have that caution?
Yes, with a fatter bank account. Things that you can buy are bigger, but the questions are just as hard. Do I really need another car? All of a sudden, it’s in reach, but it’s not going to change you for the better.
I’m a saver before I’m a spender, but that’s a relatively new function of my mindset.
When you have kids, you realise there’s a bigger picture, so you buy things that are going to give passive income and make you financially secure.
How do you grow wealth?
I’m buying gold. I’ve bought artwork from blue-chip artists … a good way to stave off inflation.
I have an offshore account that pays a fixed return, and real estate here and in the UK.
We bought here about eight years ago. We needed somewhere to live. One of the great things about my growing up was stability and I wanted that for my kids.
Best investments?
It’s always been property. From a short-term perspective, an apartment on the Palm I bought a year and a half ago.
Long-term … the house my mum helped me buy when I was 18, for £132,000. I paid it off three months ago, it’s now worth about £600,000.
Property, unless you’re doing something stupid, is a very safe long-term bet.
I’ve also got a set of basketball cards somewhere that I’ve a sneaking suspicion might be worth a fortune. Some are really old.
Do some property deals surprise you?
No. I would have been [surprised] when I was younger. I’ve sold to all walks of life, predominantly leaders in their industries.
It boggles your mind sometimes how people have made their money.
Any cherished purchases?
My wife’s wedding ring. She brings out the best in me.
Does money mean happiness?
Money used to make me happy. When I was younger, it bought designer clothes, nights out with friends, all the trappings of youth that make you a happy young man.
Now, you become astutely aware money buys you not happiness, but options. The opportunity to set your kids up in life, choose different holidays, drive different cars.
I’m a believer in enjoying life, revel in the moment, have a good work-life balance. Life is made up of a series of memories that doesn’t slip through your fingers like money.
So are you wiser?
You spend less on frivolous nonsense, understand what’s important and want for less as you get older.
When you’re 28, you’re invincible and don’t need to think about your future.
I’m now 41 and thinking about what I want to do when I retire, where to live.
What do you enjoy spending on?
Really nice dinners with friends. And art. These pieces conjure emotions, remind you of the business you’ve done to be able to buy them.
I did buy a Banksy from someone who was supposedly an art adviser — my first proper foray into blue-chip art — probably for about 30 per cent more than it was worth.
I need to leave it in storage for about 10 years to get my money back. It’s a learning curve.
