Patrick Andendall has always had an interest in politics, and being multicultural, he views issues from a more international perspective. In 2004, five days before the election, he flew to Cleveland and pitched in to help with the political process. What he discovered was the dissolution of the American Dream, which he writes about in his book, Stupidparty.
Andendall was educated at English boarding schools from the age of seven through eighteen, the final five years spent at Lancing College. This respected English high school, with its impressive literary and religious heritage, is also known for its stunning chapel, sitting atop the Sussex Downs. Leaving school, he immediately started work, sometimes holding three jobs at once—a trainee underwriter/claim broker at Lloyd’s of London, running his own one-man cleaning company (cleaning the very offices of a reinsurance company he would transact business at), plus doing seasonal work on various farms.
Having made some windfall profits after borrowing money to be a “stag” (short-term speculator)— taking advantage of opportunities created by Margaret Thatcher’s denationalization policies of the mid-1980s—Andendall evolved into an entrepreneur with a core specialty in reinsurance in London and New York, where he looks for patterns in numbers. Self-employed in a field not normally conducive to self-employment, he is able to remain in control, juggle different jobs, travel, and pursue his various interests.
Ending up in New York via romance in the African bush, Andendall now lives on Long Island with his wife, two children, and two dogs.
