The man who got rich off affordable housing (opens in new tab)

The Design Center in London’s Chelsea Harbour is an unlikely base from which to operate a social housing empire. It’s an ultra high-end shopping mall for interior design, built in 1987 to cater to the international elite when they fit out their penthouses, hotels, restaurants and superyachts. Soothing piano music plays as I climb a spiral staircase, passing countless showrooms and a giant chandelier, to reach an office on the top floor.