Stephen Bartlett has just pledged £10,000 to improve social housing
Credit: LBC
Altruistic leadership in action: how one millionaire leader is helping one promising activist /business studies student
Steven Bartlett is the youngest ever investor to appear on Dragons’ Den. And judging by a spontaneous act of kindness that he undertook at the weekend, the 29-year-old millionaire could be one of the show’s most magnanimous stars too.
After housing activist Kwajo Tweneboa gave an emotional interview on radio station LBC – where he talked about his father who died from oesophageal cancer while living in vermin-infested social housing without a kitchen or bathroom – the new Dragon pledged £10,000 towards Tweneboa’s cause.
Not only that but kind-hearted Bartlett also promised to donate cameras and offered to mentor Tweneboa too.
"What an incredible young man leading an important fight to improve Social Housing in the UK," wrote Barlett on Twitter.
"Here's what I'll do: Donate £10,000 to him so he can carry on his work. Give him the camera equipment he needs to produce more content on this topic. Mentor him in any way I can."
Bartlett certainly has plenty of insightful business advice to share. Having founded his Social Chain marketing agency as an 18-year-old, he was a millionaire by 25: not bad for somebody who was a school dropout and once was rejected to be a Dragons’ Den contestant.
Steven left Social Chain in 2020, shortly after taking his company public. Today, Social Chain has a market valuation of $600m. Bartlett’s new ventures include blockchain app-builders Thirdweb and marketing platform Flight Story. He also hosts successful podcast the Diary of a CEO and has written bestselling business book Happy Sexy Millionaire.
Meanwhile, Tweneboa has earned praise for his campaigning on social issues. After nursing his sick father in a London flat that had “cockroaches, mice, asbestos, damp, not having a bathroom or kitchen”, he took on the UK’s biggest housing association, Clarion.
The De Montfort University business studies student gained national exposure after photos of the squalid flat on his Twitter feed went viral. Clarion have since repaired Tweneboa’s flat and issued an apology, but the young activist continues to campaign for his neighbours and others living in poor quality housing.
More than eight million people – roughly the population of London – live in unsuitable housing in England, according to a 2019 study by Heriot-Watt University.