William Lever, Lord Leverhulme, founder of Unilever
Great Lives
BBC
4.2 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 10 January 2022
⏱️ 28 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
William Lever was a grocer's son who went on to make a fortune selling soap. Lifebuoy, Lux ... and eventually Unilever are just some of his creations. Picking him for Great Lives is Richard Walker, managing director of Iceland. Joining him is Adam Macqueen, author of The King of Sunlight: How William Lever Cleaned up the The World.
The presenter is Matthew Parris, the producer for BBC audio in Bristol is Miles Warde.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey, let me ask you, sir. |
| 0:03.8 | Have you heard George's podcast? |
| 0:06.1 | Me and Ben Brick are back with a blast. |
| 0:08.1 | This time with stories from Africa's past, not too distant, unsolved mysteries, unsung |
| 0:13.8 | heroes from untold histories. |
| 0:15.8 | I'm trying to make sense of the present day, join me on this journey by pressing play. |
| 0:23.8 | Have you heard George's podcast, Chapter 4? |
| 0:27.2 | Listen on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:35.7 | There is a general impression that in making money, you have to do something very wonderful, |
| 0:41.3 | said our great life today. |
| 0:43.3 | But believe me, there is much more money made in doing something better than before than |
| 0:48.3 | in doing something new. |
| 0:50.6 | That was William Leaver, also known as Lord Leaver Hume, or sometimes the old soapy man, |
| 0:56.7 | manufacture of life, boy and lux, and co-creator of the company that went on to become Unilever. |
| 1:03.6 | William Leaver was the son of a grocer. |
| 1:05.8 | He was born in Bolton in 1851, and his nominator is Richard Walker, the boss of Iceland, the |
| 1:12.6 | frozen food company, not the volcanic island to the far north east of Scotland. |
| 1:17.4 | Tell us Richard about your choice. |
| 1:18.9 | He was a remarkable man. |
| 1:20.5 | He was a remarkable man in so many different ways. |
| 1:23.7 | He came into a family business. |
| 1:25.9 | His dad started the grocery business. |
... |
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