‘I won’t throw money on the fire’ – Fulham owner Shad Khan on his strategy for growth

Arriving in Chicago from Lahore as a 16-year-old with $50 in his pocket, he cleaned dishes for $1.20 an hour while studying engineering at the University of Illinois. Now 17,000 people work for his car parts company, his fortune is around £2.4billion and the Premier League’s newest club owner has just arrived from Jacksonville in his private jet.

“I had to overcome a lot of barriers. Until 1947, it was illegal for people from the subcontinent to migrate to the US. The subcontinentals were the last ethnic minority to gain citizenship.” The adjustment for the 63-year-old even meant he stopped using his real name, Shahid. “You assimilate,” he says. “My name was too hard. They said Shad is what we are calling you. You go with the flow.”