Multimillionaire Poundland founder lives on pocket money from his wife after company's £50m sale

Pocket money: Multi-millionaire Steve Smith revealed his wife gives him cash handouts

The multi-millionaire founder of the high street chain Poundland has revealed he gave his parents £25 million when he sold the company and now lives off pocket money from his wife.

Steve Smith, 52, lives in a £6.5m 13-bedroom mansion in Shropshire with his wife and three children but takes just '£10 to £20-a-day' in spending money from his other half.

The self-made businessman gave half of the money to his parents when he sold the high street chain for £50 million in 2000.

But despite his huge wealth, the West Midlands-born entrepreneur revealed he still lives off small handouts from his wife as he can't be trusted with cash.

He told the Telegraph : "On a day-to-day basis my wife gives me a little pocket money. The problem with me is that if I have any cash on me I spend it, so she’ll give me about £10 or £20 a day."

The Poundland chain started with a small stall on Bilston market in the West Midlands before Mr Smith opened his first store in West Bromwich when he was just 18.

Self-made: Poundland founder Steve Smith sold his business for £50m in 2000

Just 10 years later the chain was worth £50m and had hundreds of stores across the UK.

When the sale was completed he gave his parents half the money - in return for a £50,000 loan he received from his dad to start the business.

Steve said: "When I was 18 I saw a vacant shop in West Bromwich one Sunday and negotiated a deal. By the end of the first year we’d turned over £1m and made a profit of £6,000 selling everything from black bin bags, to watches to rocking horses.

Riches: Smith lives in a 13-bedroom mansion in Shropshire

"By the time I sold the business for £50m in 2000 we employed five and half thousand people, had a million customers through the doors every week with a turnover of £200m and an annual profit of about £4.3m.

"The first thing I did was give my mum and dad half of it. My dad had lent me £50,000 to start the company so I suppose it was a good return for him. If it weren’t for my dad learning the trade and passing it on to me then it wouldn’t have happened.

"Money gives you lots of different opportunities but it’s important not to forget where you’ve come from."