Jim Mellon, British entrepreneur, investor, philanthropist, Chairman of Burnbrae Group and a co-founder & Deputy Chairman of Juvenescence, discusses the Master Investor Show with Dinis Guarda.
Jim Mellon is a British entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist. He is the Founder of Master Investor Show and Chairman of Burnbrae Group, a private investment company with substantial real estate holdings in Germany and the Isle of Man, alongside investments in private and public companies.
Jim is the force behind Master Investor Show, the UK’s largest event for private investors, offering expert insights, direct CEO engagements, discussions on future trends, and networking opportunities.
Speaking about the show, Jim tells Dinis:
“Master Investor is an event that brings together private investors, leading investment experts, companies looking for investment, and service providers from the investment industry.
For anyone wanting to find new investment ideas, listen to and learn from industry veterans with unique insights, and meet like-minded people, this is the single best event in the UK.
There are several competing events, but with our recent changes we have positioned Master Investor in such a way that it offers attendees a unique and useful experience.
The event offers the possibility to try out finance apps to better manage your investments. Or, to invest into young app providers!
It also provides an opportunity to experience first-hand some of the exciting technologies that are shaping investment trends.”
Since its inception in 2002, its audience consists of investors, startups and finance professionals. Today, in 2025, Master Investor Show is attracting 5,000 private investors, 100 exhibitor spaces, 20 sectors represented, and 50 speaking slots across 4 stages.
The event wants to reach a new generation that is familiar with the innovative startup culture and needs / wants to learn how to manage their investments, wealth and acquire the right skills how to accumulate it in the first place. Lead by the iconic and influential super investor and fund manager Jim Mellon, the event wants to build a bolder event and has a vision for that.
Speaking about the format of the programme, Jim tells Dinis:
“The Rising Star Stage has been a wildly popular feature in previous years. It’s there that particularly promising companies can present themselves to the audience. If you are looking for investment ideas, that’s one part of the event to keep an eye on. Because of our booming ticket sales this year – we are basically expecting twice as many people as the previous year – the smaller Rising Star Stage is bound to be packed with investors.
In our speaker line-up, we offer a very broad selection this year. Just like in previous years, I’ll be offering my insights on what’s happening on the world’s markets and how to benefit from it over the coming 12 months. Gervais Williams is one of the UK’s best small cap fund managers, and he’ll speak about opportunities in that sector. Simon Cawkwell, aka Evil Knievil, is the UK’s best-known short-seller, and he is now writing exclusively for our new Master Investor magazine. And the list continues…. This is an event with a packed line-up of hard-hitting speakers. Our attendees will be spoilt for choice.
The VIP Lounge is for speakers and a small number of VIP ticket holders to mingle. For the first time ever, we are selling a limited contingent of VIP tickets. Half of them are already gone, and it’s first come, first serve. These tickets also come with reserved seating for the front rows of the show.
For the Networking Zone, we are working to introduce an app to electronically connect attendees. Ticket holders will get an email about this shortly!
In short, we have lots of innovations coming up, and we aim to do everything on the highest possible quality level.”
Jim Mellon: A global personality
With interests in several industries Jim was the founder of a listed fund management company, Charlemagne Capital, and an Asian mining group, Regent Pacific. In addition, Jim is the controlling shareholder and a director of Manx Financial Corporation, an Isle of Man based bank, Speymill Group, a property business, and Webis Holdings.
Jim is a co-founder of Uramin and West African Minerals Resources, both mining groups. Burnbrae, his private company, runs various business units and is a substantial landlord in Germany and in the Isle of Man. Jim also owns the hotel chain Sleepwell Hotels. An avid learner Jim spends most of his time working on investment and startup ideas and investing. Jim is an honorary fellow of Oriel College, Oxford where he did his high Master education studies.
“Crowdfunding and P2P are just alternative channels for investment. Whatever way you invest, the quality of the investment and its price should be the principal determinant of whether you make it or not. It’s not about the channel, it’s about the end result. Check, check and check again”, says Jim.
A marathon-running polymath with the Midas touch, Jim’s investment funds attract the seriously moneyed and have been extremely successful. Nevertheless, despite being revered by some as Britain’s answer to ‘Sage of Omaha’ Warren Buffett, with a fortune worth more than £850m, is a genuine curious, modest and unassuming person interested in education and continuous learning.
Jim Mellon is investing in the fast forward future looking seriously at the present. After a big break stemming from a timely investment in UraMin, a uranium extraction company, the investor has searched far and wide for investments that track the changing world.
“There are so many transformative technologies in development that it is hard to pin one down. But if I had to give one area a particular highlight, which combines artificial intelligence, with haptics and the internet of things, it is the uncaged robots that are soon going to be everywhere. This will have huge implications for human jobs and for productivity. I think on balance disruption will be positive for most people, but unsettling“, Jim tells Dinis.
‘Fast Forward – The Companies Shaping our Future’ and other books by Jim Mellon
Jim Mellon is a prominent author with a focus on investment strategies, biotechnology, and future technologies. His books often explore emerging industries, offering insights into how investors can navigate and capitalise on upcoming revolutions in various sectors.
One of his notable works is Moo’s Law: An Investor’s Guide to the New Agrarian Revolution. The book delves into the evolving landscape of agriculture, emphasising new technologies and advancements that are reshaping food production and agriculture as a whole. This book provides investors with an understanding of the opportunities in the agrarian revolution, which is being driven by biotechnology and innovation.
In Juvenescence: Investing in the Age of Longevity, co-authored with Chalabi Al, Mellon explores the longevity revolution. This book discusses how medical and technological advancements are extending human life expectancy and how investors can capitalise on opportunities in the fields of health, medicine, and wellness.
Mellon’s Cracking the Code: Understanding and Profiting from the Biotech Revolution discusses the potential of biotechnology to transform our lives. The book explains how biotech advancements are not just changing the healthcare industry but are also creating lucrative opportunities for investors.
In Fast Forward: The Technologies and Companies Shaping Our Future, which he co-edited with Al Chalabi, Mellon focuses on emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, and blockchain. This work aims to help investors understand which companies and technologies will shape the future.
Speaking about this book with Dinis, he says:
“We have a section on digital currencies like Bitcoin in my “Fast Forward” book. In it, we highlight the flaws in the Bitcoin model – the security issues, the volatility of its price, and the fact that it isn’t yet widely accepted. I don’t think that Bitcoin will be a survivor, but undoubtedly, other forms of crypto currency will emerge, more secure, more accepted and again conferring anonymity on the user.”
Mellon’s The Top 10 Investments for the Next 10 Years outlines a set of investment strategies aimed at achieving financial prosperity over the next decade. This book targets those seeking to navigate long-term investments.
Other books by Jim Mellon, such as Wake Up!: Survive and Prosper in the Coming Economic Turmoil and Juno’s Ark, continue to emphasise his expertise in financial prosperity, economic survival, and the exploration of new global markets.
Predicting the future of humanity with technology, he says:
“It’s not about the channel , it’s about the ultimate result. Do you, or do you not make a profit. One thing that will become a real feature of investment is that Schumpeterian disruption will occur at a faster pace than ever before. Companies will rise and fall like the proverbial billows and a flexible, well informed approach will be even more important. Investing in the status quo is a road to ruin.“
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