Money & Me: 'I would rather help people than be rich'

Remigio Maradona, a cousin of the late football legend Diego Maradona, says he is a saver and keeps his finances simple

Remigio Maradona says he does not buy luxury items. Pawan Singh / The National

Remigio Maradona, a cousin of late football legend Diego Maradona, spent his early years in rural Argentina before relocating to New York.

Now based in Dubai, he is secretary general of the Intergovernmental Institution for the use of Micro-algae Spirulina Against Malnutrition (IIMSAM).

Although ancient in origin, spirulina is a “future food” that is key to eradicating malnutrition, Mr Maradona, 62, says.

He joined the UN’s headquarters in New York as a pioneering person of determination intern in 1985, having suffered childhood polio, and handled pivotal administrative positions while promoting creative programmes as a staunch disabled rights supporter.

Mr Maradona received a Mahatma Gandhi Seva (Service) Medal and Global Human Rights Protection Award for his work, becoming IIMSAM secretary general in 2010.

An accomplished poet, he lives in Arabian Ranches.

Did childhood impact your financial outlook?

I was one of few in Latin America to have polio in the upper extremities. They were extremely damaged, so I went through hell as a young person.

My aunt was in New York. I went there when I was 11 because the medical technology was there and had operations to give my arms functionality. There were programmes you could apply to, so most operations were free.

My aunt was a registered nurse and her husband a former marine, living in a middle-class, modest building.

That [life] made me the person I am today. I faced discrimination, had to fight for everything.

But your quality of life improved?

Yes. I went to elementary school, junior high school, to one of the best colleges in New York and did my bachelor of arts in political science, got a scholarship to do my master's degree in international diplomacy and administration. I never paid a cent.

I was a member of New York's protective services for adults for 20-plus years, earning about $32,000 a year. We are talking 1980s and 1990s.

Because I am a person of determination [and] the beauty of New York, I was able to find subsidised housing. I was working during the day, then would go to the UN.

What brought spirulina your way?

I “grew up” in the UN system from 1984, all the way to my arrival in Dubai.

I was an intern and liked the international scenery. I got into the humanitarian field and wanted to help people.

I have seen so much misery in South America and got an opportunity inside the UN system to be involved in a programme that distributes spirulina, a micro-algae popular in the 1960s and 1970s that can literally end malnutrition.

Aztecs, the Incas and the Roman Empire used it. One of the ambassadors said there was this dormant UN programme about spirulina and he helped make it into an intergovernmental organisation programme.

How did Dubai happen?

I was invited by a prominent person, an Emirati. I was sitting in the UN delegate lounge and got a phone call saying: “I want to help you.”

I came as a tourist in 2009, then in 2011, and in 2013 decided to stay. He wanted me to do the work from here and helped me get funding.

When I saw the Dubai skyline from an Emirates plane, I said: “This is a Manhattan”, except we are blessed with security. I was held up twice with a knife [in New York].

Have you ever been money motivated?

Money has never been my desire. I live in a conservative environment.

I could have made a lot of money during my lifetime, gone into private business, but I always cared, to help people … maybe because I had polio when I was two years old, which changed my life.

Getting funding [for IIMSAM] can be cumbersome. I created a goodwill ambassadors programme. They go out, buy the spirulina and distribute it. If we have to feed 5,000 kids, we make the calculation on how much money it is and the goodwill ambassador pays for that.

Has the Maradona surname helped?

Of course. Diego was a goodwill ambassador of Unicef for many years.

We had a football event with one of his friends in New York, events with Argentinian players.

I had several goodwill ambassadors from football. Not big names like Diego, but one from Brazil, Ronaldinho. They help get the word around.

What is your personal spending and saving viewpoint?

I am a saver and keep it simple. I do not buy luxury stuff. My car is a 2009 Mercedes. It is not that I am a miser; I live within my means because I am not getting rivers of money as is the case with some people.

With this Ukraine war, prices are getting pretty bad, so I do not buy certain things I used to … a lot of people I know are doing the same. I have to be disciplined.

We all should value what we have because it can be gone tomorrow.

Do you have a cherished purchase?

A gold necklace I bought with a crucifix on. My father also had one. It was one of the first gifts I gave myself for my “big” birthday.

Anything you like spending on?

Going out with friends and talking about the world in an affordable restaurant. And I am a gadget guy. I bought one that suspends the keyboard and makes it easier to type.

How do you feel about money?

Money is important because it is the petrol that runs the show. If you do not have it, how are you going to do things?

So, you need money in the world but money should not make you a slave … for some people, money does.

You and me are people that, maybe, can adjust if we do not have money; even though it is difficult, we have the capacity to survive with or without it.

So, rich doesn’t necessarily mean happy?

There are thousands of millionaires around the world [for whom] money has not made them happy. You see the headlines.

Money is important, it is a catalyst to make things go, but there are people that cannot live with less than a million dollars a year.

I do not obsess for money, I am not this kind of person. I am just happy when I am helping people … but I do realise you cannot have a life in this world without money.

But you have also seen its positive power?

It can be a force for good, in the right hands and the right leadership. We are very innovative (at IIMSAM); we have to be out of the box when you do not have the millions that Unicef or the World Food Programme have.

In 12 years of humanitarian activities, I do not think we have ever passed $1.2 million, which is nothing in today’s money, and we have [helped] more than 100,000 people.

We have some big names [supporting us] and people automatically assume everybody’s donating a million dollars a year each, which is totally inaccurate. In most cases, it is just the name; if they want to give, the doors are always open.

What are your goals?

I want to experience driving a car, even for just for two blocks. My other dream is to look at the world and see we have very little malnutrition – 700 million people go to bed hungry every night … we should not have hunger.

I am proud of what we have done with an extremely limited budget.