Using what he calls his childlike spirit, British teenage millionaire, Dominic McVey, made his early money with a simple idea and container load of zeal. By 15, he had made a million dollars.

“I was very, very competitive,” he said, starting up a business at just 13.

To save up for a collapsible scooter he thought filled a niche for London workers, McVey ran discos and did fund raising.

His hunch was right.

 After selling the first five to family and friends, he then imported another ten and before long he had sold 300,000.

He was inquisitive and always disguised his age, doing all his business on the internet from his bedroom.

“Whenever I did meet companies, even if I thought I couldn’t get any business out of them, I asked them a million and one questions about how they did business,” McVey said. “They loved telling me because they felt like the other brother telling the kid what to do.”

And yes, it helps to be living with your parents.

“The added advantage is that the money you make is in a sense all yours, because you don’t have a mortgage or bills, all I was paying for was the internet and my mobile phone.”

McVey makes the point that your money may not last. This much is true for Australia’s Rich List.

A look at last year’s Top 5 Richest Young Australians (by BRW) highlights tragic stories, one of Edmund Groves the founder of ABC Learning Centres, and the Crazy John’s mobile phones magnate John Ilhan. The family man died of a suspected heart attack while out jogging. He was 42.

Practicing what he preaches, McVey has several new ideas in the pipeline.

And it involves his other passion – music .

McVey is set to launch a new boy band, called Most Wanted, and a music show for TV is also planned.

When you add a line of condoms called ‘Newd’, and some high-end pharmaceutical products it seems, for now, McVey’s riches are still on the rise.

More info

Yahoo!7 Money Matters – Financial advice

Business Week – photo essay on McVey