James Caan was born Nazim Khan in Lahore.
But the young businessman changed his name after seeing the Hollywood actor's name at the end of a film.
Initially working for his father's leather jacket firm, he moved into recruitment aged 18 and at 24 founded his own company, Alexander Mann, later selling his stake for £25 million. Caan set up private equity company Hamilton Bradshaw in 2004 and since 2007 has been one of the investors on BBC2's Dragons' Den. This year he launched the Entrepreneurs' Business Academy to encourage, train and advise small businesses.
He spoke with the Daily Mail, though, about a car, previously owned by Sir Elton, that he considers his ''pride and joy.''
''I'd settled on an Eighties Aston Martin V8 - there aren't many around, so they've got the 'wow' factor. But I didn't see any that were in a decent condition, until I read that Elton John was auctioning off 20 cars, including this. I thought, 'I bet Elton will have maintained it well,' and I was right. The car had only done a couple of hundred miles and looked brand new. Elton has a fleet of over 30 cars spread over his various homes on different continents and I think he treats them like suits: he uses them every now and then, but the rest of the time they're kept in storage.
He added that Timothy Dalton drove a hard-top version of the V8 in The Living Daylights.
''It's got a hand-made quality and elegance that's uniquely British. Looked at from the front, to me, it seems to be roaring like a lion. It's very meaty and masculine. With most modern convertibles, the hood disappears into the car. I like the fact that my roof sits on the car. I also like the body-coloured spoiler and grille. It's got the old-fashioned headlamps. There's something about the older designs I prefer. I'd buy this over a modern DB9 or V8 Vantage any day.''
