Peter Rosengard, a London-based life insurance salesman with a varied career spanning several decades, recounts a personal and professional journey marked by significant highs and challenges. Born to a Glasgow-native father who was a respected family doctor but struggled with compulsive gambling, Rosengard himself faced similar difficulties in his early adulthood. By his early 20s, despite professional success, he was losing substantial sums gambling on blackjack in Soho casinos, culminating in the repossession of a Rolls-Royce. He credits his recovery in his mid-20s to support from Gamblers Anonymous, an organization his father helped found in the United Kingdom in 1964.
Rosengard’s professional career is highlighted by several notable achievements. Among them was his role in selling the world’s first $100 million life insurance policy for David Geffen, the American record executive who sold Geffen Records to MCA Universal for $550 million in 1990. Rosengard secured the policy after a bold cold call to Universal’s president, Sid Sheinberg, illustrating the persistence and business acumen that sustained his success in life insurance sales.
Reflecting on his financial journey, Rosengard described the years following the Geffen policy as particularly prosperous, though he considers every year in his career rewarding. He attributes the steady demand for life insurance to the universal drive to protect loved ones, emphasizing the business’s enduring relevance.
Beyond insurance, Rosengard’s ventures included founding London’s Comedy Store in Soho in 1979, a venue that became an early platform for comedians such as Rik Mayall, Dawn French, and Jennifer Saunders. Despite its cultural impact, Rosengard acknowledged the club was not financially lucrative and cautioned against entering business partnerships with Soho strip club owners.
Another successful endeavor was managing the pop group Curiosity Killed the Cat in 1984. After discovering the band by chance, Rosengard invested £100,000 alongside two associates, helping launch their career with several hit singles and a platinum-selling debut album. The band’s distinctive lead singer, Ben Volpeliere-Pierrot, became a recognizable figure in pop music, in part due to Rosengard’s early branding decisions.
Rosengard’s personal financial choices include owning property in Maida Vale, London, with a previous house in Holland Park sold after a personal separation. He maintains a self-invested personal pension and plans to leave his estate to his daughter Lily, a Cambridge-educated global diversity and human rights activist.
Looking ahead, Rosengard expresses a desire to encourage young people to pursue careers in sales and entrepreneurship, seeing these paths as key drivers of economic growth. His core financial goal remains to secure sufficient resources to never worry about money again.
Rosengard recently published a book titled *They Only Call Me When They’re Dead!*, further detailing his life and career experiences.