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I am sure psychologists would have a field day trying to find out why I am so interested about the world around me.
Richard Austin Quest means business. Every minute is important to this 54-year-old British business and finance journalist. He does not waste time in getting to the point. Although his profession partly defines him, his clothes don’t. “I wear anything that makes me feel good,” he says, wearing Toni Pons espadrilles “bought for 20-25 euros,” and shorts and T-shirt from Giordano, “which is the Hong Kong equivalent of something lower than GAP.”
He does not stop there.“I buy stuff that makes me look good,” he says, settling comfortably into a sofa at the plush heritage bungalow of Taj West End in Bengaluru. “The other day, I saw a white shirt for $200 to $300 at a shop,” he says. “I can afford it, but I didn’t buy it because there are cheaper ones that look just as good on me. I don’t care for labels. They don’t define who I am.
The anchor of Quest Express and Quest Means Business, and the editor-at-large for CNNMoney, lives life simply. “I am not a foodie,” says the law graduate from University of Leeds. “I eat to live. I am a practical eater, and I like good food.” His favourite meal of the day is breakfast. “If breakfast goes wrong, my day doesn’t go right,” he says, fighting a sinus issue thanks to back-to-back flying. “Sunday brunch is the best. I have pancakes, beans, eggs on top, sausages.” Quest never misses his breakfast, “even if I have to get up earlier than usual.” It could be oatmeal or scrambled eggs. “My body requires me to have breakfast. It doesn’t have to be posh or great, but I need to eat. I breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dine like a pauper. If it’s dinner, it’s just chicken salad for me.”
He is based in New York and spends 60 to 70 per cent of his time there. The rest of his work itinerary is on the field. Like his recent visit to Bengaluru for the CNN Asia Business Forum. “I was in Doha, then Auckland, Dubai, and now Bengaluru. Next is London and then back to New York. I did a couple of my editions in Dubai.” An average day is when he is in New York. “I get up at 5, read overnight emails, give myself five minutes of ‘quiet time’ before having my breakfast. I am at the gym from 6.30am-8am (weights and cardio). Then I head to the New York stock exchange for Quest Express. I am back home by 7pm.”
Richard Quest | John Nowak
‘Different’ and ‘interested’ define Quest, by his own admission. “I did campus radio when most others were doing sports. I am curious and interested in everything, even if my job doesn’t require me to be. I did it the other day by asking many questions to an expert while filming the baggage hall of Virgin Atlantic. I did it at the Auckland airport when I took the inaugural longest flight in the world (Doha-Auckland). I was also invited to the cockpit. I have flown sims, but I wanted to know everything about flight management systems from the crew. I am sure psychologists would have a field day trying to find out why I am so interested about the world around me.”
Has he been to a therapist? “That’s between me and my psychologist,” quips Quest whose greatest fear is failure. Quest is entertaining television material. “I started with the BBC whose credo is to inform, educate and to entertain, but most journalists always forget the third one and take themselves too seriously. I was dressed in drag for a pantomime show, but the viewer is intelligent enough to recognise that I was doing that then and I am doing this (business show) now. You’ve got to laugh with me and not at me. Sometimes, you get it wrong, but most times, you get it right.”
Quest is just as entertaining offstage. In 2006, he refused to join Al Jazeera’s English news channel because he thought “being gay and Jewish” might not work for it. Two years later, he was put behind bars for being in New York’s Central Park during unearthly hours and possessing a banned substance. In 2014, he announced that he’s gay on Quest Means Business.
Ten years from now? “I should be comfortable enough to be able to retire. Frankly, I would like to retire at a beach house and not be shlepping around the world.” Little wonder then that he wants his epitaph to read: ‘He did his best!’
