The body of work Stephen Goldstein has steadily accumulated across both commercial and charitable sectors is almost unrivalled in the region – and his appetite to add to it, even in his ninth decade, shows no sign of diminishing. JON GRIFFIN meets this fascinating proponent of business, charity and community.
On his LinkedIn profile Stephen Goldstein CBE lists his education as ‘university of life’ – and what a life it’s been.
That tongue-in-cheek reference provides a telling insight into the character and mindset of a former Moseley Grammar schoolboy who many would argue has graduated in various subjects several times through the decades, often with first-class honours.
Champion of the underdog, stalwart charity supporter, friend of royalty, former co-developer with ‘Deadly’ Doug Ellis, Goldstein has been a mainstay of the West Midlands business and charitable sectors for longer than he cares to remember.
At one point in a fascinating, and rare, interview with this descendant of a late 19th-century Jewish immigrant, he says: “I have done lots of things but half of them I can’t remember.”
But posterity will surely always recognise Goldstein’s contribution to the West Midlands and further afield even if the man himself claims – not entirely convincingly – that his power of recall isn’t always reliable.
Many of a certain vintage would argue that Goldstein, now into his ninth decade after celebrating his 80th birthday earlier this year, helped change the face of property development in the region, encouraging investment into the West Midlands and safeguarding the future of Birmingham’s treasures such as St Paul’s Square and the Jewellery Quarter.
Whilst his track record in business over the years speaks for itself, Goldstein has rarely sought publicity for himself. He gives the impression that he generally prefers to work diligently in the background, allowing others to broadcast their achievements across the various virtual soapboxes and 24-7 social media platforms available to anyone with access to the internet and a desire to be noticed.
Even the surroundings for the interview are rarefied, as we meet in his 600-year-old office at the Grade II listed Malvern House on the fringes of Solihull town centre, resplendent with historic wooden beams, oil paintings and antique furniture.
But the man himself is no museum piece, even if he’s happy to throw in the occasional self-deprecatory line for good measure – “I have found in business and life, don’t take yourself too seriously, you are not that important.”
But Goldstein has undoubtedly been an important and influential figure over many years, not just in the West Midlands property sector, but in the lives of countless children with special needs that he and his wife Stephanie have helped support through many charitable endeavours.
The Goldstein saga, a genuine rags-to-riches fable which would in time leave an indelible mark on the West Midlands, begins as far back as the late Victorian era – and Stephen’s grandfather, Jewish emigre Cecil Alexander Goldstein.
“In 1896 my grandfather came from Lithuania and somehow appeared in the Jewellery Quarter. In that period Lithuania was part of Russia and the Cossacks were coming, taking the young men and putting them in the army for 30 years. He didn’t really fancy that.
“I don’t know a lot about the history. We don’t know what he had to do to survive and get here. He came on his own and brought over the lady who became his wife.
“He built up a business, starting in the Jewellery Quarter going out on the knocker buying old gold and bringing it back into Betts [bullion dealers]. We still have the records of his transactions.
“He escaped persecution, he was successful and finished up in a massive house in Trafalgar Road off Moseley Road.
“My grandfather had two sons. My dad was the older son and he had a brother who was always a bachelor. My dad, Jack Goldstein, was a real character – five feet high and five feet wide. He was a lovely man who was very community-orientated and that taught me a lot.
“We lived in Russell Road, Moseley, which for me was idyllic because I had Reddings Rugby at the top of the road and Warwickshire cricket ground at the bottom of the road. I was a typical lad with a bicycle. I had a home with a lot of love and food.”
His father ran a retail jewellery shop in Temple Street, but died of cancer at the age of just 60 in 1970, leaving son Stephen at a crossroads in his life.
“I found myself with a widowed mother, 56, and I had to grow up. I was 25 at the time.”
By now married to wife Stephanie, he had ditched ambitions to become a barrister or enrol at the London School of Economics, turning his attention to training as a chartered auctioneer and surveyor. It was a career move which would reap considerable dividends for the budding property entrepreneur.
At the same time he was developing a taste for charitable work as he embraced the traditions of the Jewish community and beliefs instilled by his late father.
“The things he did in the community sort of rubbed off on me - it was second nature. Charity work was paramount. It wasn’t the big charities, it was always the smaller ones. For me, less is more.”
The ‘less is more’ mantra would serve Goldstein well over the years as he gradually built up a reputation in the Birmingham property world, initially training at Lawrence and Wightman in Waterloo Street before working on building projects with a family acquaintance in the shape of none other than Doug Ellis, the man who made his fortune in the package holiday travel sector before eventually buying Aston Villa.
Goldstein recalls: “I worked with Doug for three or four years. I built some houses, did stuff, and made some money. He had a reputation as Deadly Doug, but deep down he was a pussycat.”
After an illuminating few years with Ellis – “I learnt a lot” – Goldstein branched out on his own to launch a commercial property agency called Alexander Stevens.
“I built up a pretty good business and got asked to chair the redevelopment of the Jewellery Quarter, which was successful,” he says.
He was later appointed chairman of the Jewellery Quarter Urban Village development board, proudly showing Prince Charles around the area, before getting involved in the creation of the Jewellery and Silver Centre which became known as the Big Peg.
Eventually selling Alexander Stevens to public company Hanover Druce, Goldstein was also making a name for himself in the world of charity, a sector long dear to his heart fostered by his lifelong ties with the city’s close-knit Jewish community.
As he reflects today on his Jewish roots, he says: “Friday night is still precious to me – it is not spiritual, it is just traditional. I love the traditions of my religion.
“I am a proud Jew, I am not Jewish on a Tuesday when it suits me. I am also proud to be a citizen of the world and a citizen of the West Midlands where I have grown up.”
Goldstein’s burgeoning reputation in the business sector, allied to that community-spirited mentality, provided the impetus for notable charity work with organisations as diverse as the Variety Club of Great Britain, the Duke of Edinburgh Awards scheme, the Lord Mayor of Birmingham’s charity and his very own charitable incarnation, the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party.
But no profile of his dedication to charity would be complete without reference to wife Stephanie, who first encouraged him to help youngsters with special needs when they were teenage sweethearts.
“This is going back to the beginning. My wife came from London, we met when we were 17 on a youth trip to Israel. We became boyfriend and girlfriend and I used to go down to London.
“One day she said to me we are going to this place, a special home for children who aren’t well – we are going to take them for a walk in the country, give them tea and give the staff a bit of respite.
“I said to my 18-year-old girlfriend, what do I do? She said they are kids. I honestly had this epiphany that I realised I was the odd one out, not them, and I had a great time. They were fun, they were a bit high-spirited and they were quite strong, but it was great. And it was great to see how happy she was.”
That teenage epiphany for a young Stephen Goldstein proved the forerunner for a lifetime helping youngsters with special needs alongside other charitable ventures. But he never forgot his young sweetheart’s devotion to the cause. “We have done it ever since. She has done it her way, I have done it my way.
“My wife is still my best adviser, because she tells it as it is.” The couple have two sons living in France and Israel, and six grandsons.
Years after his London epiphany, Goldstein would become co-chairman of fundraising nationally for the Variety Club, the national children’s charity, a close confidant of Prince Edward through the Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards scheme, and also launch the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party.
“I found myself in New York in Central Park where there is an Alice in Wonderland statue with all the characters. I said to the long-suffering Mrs Goldstein I am going to put a party on at the Botanical Gardens in Birmingham, and theme it Mad Hatter’s. It was a one-off 17 years ago and that is how my charity was born.”
The charity helps children with special educational needs and disabilities, organising fun days out to fundraising events. It was awarded the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, the highest award given to local volunteer groups across the UK to recognise outstanding community work.
“It is just to put back. They are so innocent and I do it for the smile on the kids’ faces. It’s a lovely thing to do.”
Goldstein is also proud of his relationship with Prince Edward – now the Duke of Edinburgh – through the long-running awards scheme. “Prince Edward was lovely. I formed the Women in Business Duke of Edinburgh Awards, and his wife Sophie chaired it. I am proud to say she still does.
“I got invited to Prince Edward’s 40th birthday at Buckingham Palace. How many people in the world get that invitation? I was really excited about it, not at all blase.”
More recently, Goldstein has been chairman of the trustees of the Lord Mayor of Birmingham’s charity, which supports a wide range of local, not-for-profit organisations and smaller local charitable groups.
In tandem with his charitable work, he has continued to embrace his entrepreneurial spirit over the years, helping develop golf courses and hotels in France, launching a joint venture with the former Ansells brewery to create new pubs, and winning Birmingham’s first full licence for the Wellington pub, removing the shackles imposed by the big brewers.
It has been a full and varied eight decades for a man who admits life has not always run smoothly. “I have had lots of companies. Some have failed – I have had plenty of failures – but that is where you learn. I have learnt the hard way.
“But I haven’t forgotten where I have come from. I am unbelievably grateful to this country. If my grandfather hadn’t left Lithuania, either the Cossacks or the Nazis would have got him . . . and maybe I wouldn’t have been here.”
If Stephen Goldstein hadn’t been here, the West Midlands would have been deprived of the tireless vision and entrepreneurial drive of a man who has managed to sup with princes whilst retaining the common touch.
“People are people, regardless of background, colour or religion,” he says.
It’s surely fair to suggest that Stephen Goldstein owes that sort of insight to that aforementioned university of life.
