Meet Dr. W. G. Hill | Biography
The Millionaire’s Favorite Read
You Won’t Find W.G. Hill On Any Best Seller List But,
It’s Hard To Find A Millionaire Who Hasn’t
Read Most Of His $100 “Special Reports”.
Review from Expat World Online
Hill’s Low Profile — The name W.G. Hill isn’t bandied around much in the book-publishing world.
No literary society has ever discussed any of the two dozen or so volumes this author (under various pen-names) has produced.
But over the last thirty years, in the world of bankers, accountants, high net worth investors and financiers with offshore interests, Hill has been a seminal influence.
His most famous book is P.T., or “Perpetual Traveller.” Though this title might convey the idea that it’s a book about travelling, it isn’t.
The subject is, how wealthy people can – with proper paperwork – enjoy life more.
It’s “How to have a good time with your money”, but at the same time avoid the unwelcome attention that conspicuous consumption and high profile wealth always bring.”
These negatives include the unwelcome intrusions of tax collectors, insurance salesman, contingent fee plaintiff’s lawyers, alimony-seeking ex-wives, kidnappers, and burglars. Not to mention every description of con-man.
Do these matters concern millionaires? Judging from Hill’s book sales, they do, indeed.
The original Hill, back in the 1970s was a self-publisher who advertised his books as” Special Reports” in the International Herald Tribune. One of his early fans was the newsletter guru, Sir Harry Schultz, who made enough or sold enough books to live well.
Sir Harry writes in PT, “I spent my first few years as a tax exile at the Monte Carlo Beach Hotel, interacting with hard-bodied, high maintenance cost divorced women who in their topless bikinis populated Riviera pool sides like motes in the sunshine.”
Hill’s books always offered his personal services to assist any reader in accomplishing the goals set out. For instance, his 1975 Lloyd’s Report promised the reader would “make serious money without any investment, work or risk.”
This was two decades before many Lloyd’s names did, in fact, suffer substantial losses. But Hill wrote later, “If people handled their Lloyd’s relationships as I suggested (with stop-loss insurance) they came out ahead.” Hill charged a hefty fee to introduce new names and get them into Lloyd’s as insurance underwriters.
Eventually, around 1986 Hill was picked up and thereafter published by Nicholas Pine of Scope Books, Plymouth, England. Pine was a minor publisher of books for collectors of ceramics. His typical press run in the pre-Hill days was a thousand copies. With Hill’s books for millionaires soon selling all over the world like hotcakes, Scope hit pay dirt.
An ex-employee from Scope revealed to us that at the time Hill quit in 1990, sales of well over 100,000 copies of each Hill book would have been “a low ballpark figure.” With ten books being major sellers and a direct mail price of £60 / $100 per book, that seems to mean that gross sales of Hill’s books passed the 100 million dollar level. As marketers who sell via classified advertising and direct mail know, that means most revenues go directly to the bottom line. Although Hill’s book sales figures are not available to the public (not sold via bookstores), this could mean that little-known Scope, by publishing the works of a mystery man whose pen name was Hill and who disappeared over ten years ago, became far and away, the world’s most profitable book publisher.
But Profits Just Started With Those Book Sales — Each Hill report describes products or lifestyle goals. If the reader wanted to make Hill’s programs a reality, he hired Hill (or more recently, Grandpa a Hill clone at fees up to $20,000 per consultation) to get him up and running.
Our informant suggests that twenty per cent of all book buyers sign up for consulting services.
Then there are the international seminars at $2000@, plus residence and second passport programs costing up to $350,000. The Hill books suggest other ways that millionaires can enjoy their money more – by spending it with Scope on “lifestyle-enhancing” products and services. Although a full refund has always been offered to any reader or client who felt they didn’t get value for money– incredibly– Scope had no refund requests during its 20 years in business! Must have been a lot of satisfied customers who became PTs and improved their lives. The basic premise of PT and all of Hill’s books is that any wealthy person will enjoy life more and protect his assets better by using what Hill called ” The PT flag theory”
DOES HILL EXIST?
There was definitely a chap, introduced and billed as Hill. He used to appear at Scope’s lectures in various wigs and disguises. He disappeared from the scene many years ago. It was variously announced that the original Hill had died, retired or went low profile himself in the Far East.
The truth seems to be that there was a falling out with Scope, and Hill just quit, and left England.
Some say he retired to a beach in Bali. There have also been Hill sightings in Sark and the Turks & Caicos, among other places.
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