Here is how to turn an initial investment of just under £600,000 into a return of £88 million: just follow the Martin Edwards plan.
Some time over the next few weeks, when he finally sells his stake in his business to Rupert Murdoch's NewsCorp, the chief executive of Manchester United will receive the biggest cheque ever handed over in British football history.
For those wishing to emulate the Edwards way, the news is not so good. Firstly, it is necessary to be Louis Edwards's son. "Champagne Louis" as he was known around Manchester for his keen interest in bubbly and fine Havanas, was majority shareholder and chairman of Manchester United from 1963 until 1980.
Edwards Senior entered football from a traditional route: He was the local butcher made good. He had built his meat business by assiduous attention to those responsible for the lucrative school meals contracts in education authorities. Louis was not just generous with turkeys at Christmas, but with wads of cash in brown envelopes. In January 1980, Granada TV screened a World In Action investigation into Louis's operations so damning both Greater Manchester police and the Inland Revenue began immediate inquiries. Louis was outraged at the programme and sought advice from his solicitor. It was difficult to sue, the legal man suggested, as the truth is not libellous. A month after the programme was screened, Edwards Senior died of a heart attack.
The business had to continue, and in March 1980, his son and heir was voted chairman of Manchester United. Edwards Junior had become a director in the 1970s when he first bought 1,138 shares at £172.70 a piece. Later, he strengthened his position with 400,000 new shares during a rights issue, picked up at £1 each.
Almost from the moment he took over the chair, Mr Edwards's vital need was in servicing the massive overdraft he had used to buy his share, an overdraft under constant threat of expansion thanks to the major character trait he had inherited from his father: a taste for an extravagant lifestyle.
In 1981, he cast United's vote in favour of a change in the FA's rules he believed was vital to the future of British football. It was to allow club directors to be paid, and from that moment on his salary has been among the top five at the club. In 1984, he voted to change limits on directors' dividends and immediately received £77,319 of United's profits.
But what he tried to do most often was sell the club. In 1984, he could not wait to meet Robert Maxwell after it was rumoured the latter was prepared to offer £10 million for his interest. Nothing came of that, but in 1989 he almost managed to sell to Michael Knighton, a property speculator. The deal collapsed.
Throughout the 1990s, the club fulfilled all expectations and more. His principal skill was to know his own limitations and to listen to those who knew better: a rare quality in football. He recruited Edward Freedman from Spurs to develop the merchandise operation, he brought in Greg Dyke from LWT to lend broadcasting expertise and, vitally, he stuck with team manager Alex Ferguson to ensure the mother business out on the pitch remained productive.
Always, though, he maintained his own position in the club. Even when it was floated on the stock exchange, Mr Edwards remained the largest single shareholder, until now.
