
BrewDog boss James Watt says “bitter” Brits “resent successful people” – 19 responses that mean business
BrewDog boss James Watt has been making his opinions known a lot lately – whether it’s about work-life balance or in a cringey “roast” video with his fiancee, Georgia Toffolo, from Made In Chelsea.
His latest intervention came on LBC radio this week, while talking about the lack of business experience among the front bench of the Labour government.
Brewdog boss slams ministers for ‘lacking business experience’, and says Brits are ‘bitter about successful people’ https://t.co/1YnGpPtFMn
— LBC (@LBC) January 22, 2025
Watt compared the UK cabinet members in business portfolios to their counterparts in the US, saying: “If you look at the Secretary for Commerce in the US, they’ve got a huge amount of business experience.”
‘The Secretary of State for Business has never worked in a business, let alone run one.’
BrewDog founder @JamesBWatt points out the ‘massive failing’ in the UK that politicians lack business experience. pic.twitter.com/VYDufy4DuT
— LBC (@LBC) January 22, 2025
He then went on to say his thinks there’s generally a cynical attitude in the UK towards wealth and successful people. Watt said:
“I spend a lot of time in the US and in the US, if someone’s successful, you find people cheering them on, you find people celebrating that success because they’re so inculcated with American dream is they’re thinking ‘that could be me’.
“Whereas in the UK we don’t have that. So there tends to be a kind of inbuilt cynicism, bitterness sometimes, a kind of resentment towards people who are successful – because people don’t believe they can go out and do that themselves.”
People have picked up on Watt’s comments and very much have their own counter-arguments.
1.
— Pinky Demon ️ (@BpdLion) January 22, 2025
2.
Ah yes what’s not to resent about a man who put a poll on Linkedin to propose postponing his wedding so he wouldn’t be affiliated with his wife’s new business so they’d pay less tax.
So very very punk. https://t.co/p57nMlxLkl
— James Allen (@JamesAllen27) January 24, 2025
3.
Man who’s entire business is dependant on people’s leisure time complained last week about people wanting a work/life balance. He needs to examine his own comments first.
— @johnmchugh1878.bsky.social (@JohnMcHugh1878) January 22, 2025
4.
The country is not a business and does not need business expertise in its ministers.
— Tony Ryan (@tony49) January 22, 2025
5.
Imagine having the confidence to think people don’t like you cos you’re rich and not cos you’re a complete twat. https://t.co/gKB9G3o6Zl
— s (@_xst10_) January 23, 2025
6.
This guy’s reneging on the living wage commitment gets a lot of (deserved) bad coverag. But I think it overshadows how management at his venues actively attempted to sack and force employees to quit who’d been hired under contract with those wages following it’s abandonment. https://t.co/VJFXCSLJWg
— Will (@ClippedHussar) January 24, 2025
7.
he doesn’t want us to like him. he simply does not want us to like him https://t.co/Ef4XQWmI8M
— Ava-Santina (@AvaSantina) January 23, 2025
8.
Rich man pays more tax and complains. Exclusive
— Andy Powell (@andy5powell) January 22, 2025
9.
Bitter about successful people not paying that success equally with their workers, yep
— David C Scott UTI (@davidchscott) January 22, 2025
10.
He literally owns a brewery and a chain of pubs. It’s not like he’s running British aerospace is it?
— Drew (@Drew_W5) January 22, 2025
11.
https://t.co/3ei9trBdNL pic.twitter.com/3p9UlYDIW2
— Aidan James (@mcandidate) January 23, 2025
12.
https://t.co/1p5TMy18Z1 pic.twitter.com/VCxo5okkka
— David (@FourNaanJeremy) January 25, 2025
13.
https://t.co/rtMX0ARDMc pic.twitter.com/ekGc41yuSV
— Brad (@bradyates_) January 24, 2025
14.
Not to be a man in his 30s, but I can’t help but think about the Stewart Lee Ben Elton bit. ‘I think the answer is actually more simple – it’s not that British people don’t like success. British people don’t like Ben Elton’, or similar https://t.co/o6oQPEg5FF
— Chris Deeley (@ThatChris1209) January 23, 2025
15.
I’m not bitter at successful people.
I’m bitter at successful people thinking they can get away with paying no taxes, their workers shit wages and then on top of that feeling like their workers should be grateful.
Bitter I pay more tax than a lot of millionaires too. https://t.co/XPVoDcZLX6— CW (@mr_wright_54321) January 22, 2025
16.
For someone who loves working so much more than the rest of us lazy sods, he sure does spend a lot of time chatting complete shit for attention? https://t.co/aCaxrAOHxS
— WaheyStar Royco (@BuckinghamAlice) January 23, 2025
17.
Isn’t this just us being British? We don’t take things too seriously and like to take the piss. https://t.co/BDG894GYIa
— Liam Kent (@tnekmail) January 24, 2025
18.
It’s like one of them children in need videos…
‘Millionaires are leaving every day, but for higher taxes to yourself… you can help keep them in the country’ https://t.co/nQyCaiz0QE
— James Christopher (@j_christopher91) January 23, 2025
19.
Nah we just resent the rich pissing on us and telling us it’s just raining
— seanieb1983™ (@seanieb1983) January 23, 2025
Source: Twitter/X/lbc