Alfie Best Jnr has been surrounded by wealth and opulence for most of his life. His dad, Alfie Snr, has a billion-pound fortune, a £ 6 million mansion, a fleet of supercars, an Aston Martin helicopter, a jet, and a yacht.
But for young Alfie, despite having all the trappings of wealth that most of us can only dream of, something was missing from his life.
In an exclusive interview with The Sun, the jet-setting entrepreneur – who has a £ 10 million fortune – reveals he has now found inner peace after converting to Islam.
Alfie – joint 85th on the Rich List for people under 30 with actress Millie Bobby Brown – left school at 12, hired a van and a driver, and sold cleaning products to factory bosses.
He bought a nightclub at 16 and sold it a year later. Now he owns two caravan parks and sells eye-wateringly expensive watches to celebs, millionaires, and footballers.
Alfie was observing the holy month of Ramadan. He studies the Koran, says prayers in Arabic five times a day, and visits a mosque at least once a week.
Although he still runs his watch business, Alfie no longer wears gold because it is forbidden by Islam.
Though on his wrist he has a platinum watch that is literally out of this world – encrusted with grains of stone from a space meteorite and is worth £150,000.
Alfie Jnr says: “I’m unique – I’m the only gypsy who has converted to Islam.
“It’s not something I want to hide. Being a traveller I’ve had a stigma since being in school and I still get it to this day.
“I’ve dealt with it my whole life and it doesn’t bother me. If anything it has made me a stronger person.”
His epiphany came last September when he and four friends flew in his dad’s £ 4.5 million Aston Martin helicopter to Cornwall for lunch at a five-star hotel.
One of his pals, who is white and English, had to get back early because his mum was attending the mosque in Lewisham, South London, for The Shahada – declaring her faith in one God, Allah.
Alfie says: “We were going for food afterward so it was either sit outside in the car or take my shoes off and go into the mosque. My friend cried as he watched his mum take her Shahada.
Something was trying to either contact me or something was trying to reach me
Alfie – who is also a professional boxer and has two wins out of two fights at the super featherweight level – now spends more time at the mosque than the gym.
He began studying the Koran and at Regent’s Park mosque, he had his own Shahada.
Alfie also used to sell tickets to boozy traveler parties and boxing matches – but he no longer drinks and is not allowed to promote alcohol.
He says: “I used to love alcohol and I’d drink whatever was on the table.
If I went out for a good night on the drinking it would put me in bed for a week
“When there’s peer pressure to have a drink it’s very easy just to say ‘yeah’ for an easier life. Now I have a reason to say ‘no’ but people still try to force it on you’. I have just as good time without it and I didn’t know that I could.”
His tycoon dad, Alfie Snr, was stunned to discover his son had converted to Islam after being brought up as a proud gypsy.
“I am sure in becoming a Muslim he will face further challenges but due to his background I know he has the strength to deal with the haters,” he says.
Alfie says: “She’s a lot more understanding than my dad. She’s the first person I told before I even took my Shahada because I knew she would not try and pull me one way or the other.
I thought my dad would look at me like I’d gone doolally.
