Peter Mandelson famously said that New Labour were ‘intensely relaxed about people getting filthy rich’

With the purchase of an £8million London mansion Peter Mandelson must be very, very relaxed indeed. How he acquired so much money would be an interesting question to have answered; certainly his income as an MP, then an EU Commissioner and finally a Peer would not seem to be enough. We know that his inheritance was not that large so how has twice disgraced Peter Mandelson become so rich? Property dealings would be one possibility but that is a line of inquiry that leads back to how Peter Mandelson was forced out of office for the first time. There are also his links with several foreign multi-millionaires, that are sometimes mooted as an explanation for Peter Mandelson's acquisition of so much wealth, but I am sure that Peter Mandelson was as straight in his business dealings as he was in his political career.

There is something about Peter Mandelson that makes many people instantly distrust him, maybe in this case first impressions are 'on the money'.