The United Kingdom (UK) has been classified as the fourth most enterprising nation globally and the primary entrepreneurial nation in Europe, as documented by The Telegraph. The UK has significantly enhanced its entrepreneurial environment in recent years.
The increase in business activity is attributable to the motivation provided by influential UK business owners as well as government regulations. It would not be surprising if numerous startups continue to flourish for many years to come. The realm of the most successful UK business owners boasts several prominent figures. Let’s delve into their stories one by one.
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Phillip Green
Phillip Green is a billionaire UK business owner associated with various controversies. However, we won’t discuss those controversies here. Feel free to search for them online. We will focus solely on his business career.
He serves as the CEO of Arcadia Group, a coalition of leading retail companies like Topshop, Burton, Miss Selfridge, Dorthy Perkins, Outfit, Wallis, Evans, and Topman. British Home Stores (BHS) was also part of this group.
Green received training in international trade, which proved to be beneficial. He dropped out of high school at the age of 15 and ventured into importing shoes. From then on, he never looked back. He started acquiring numerous clothing-based retail stores, amassing a multi-billion fortune.
An interesting aspect about him is that he was knighted in the 2006 Queen’s Birthday Honors for his contributions to the retail industry. He is also recognized for his philanthropic work and other similar activities. He took the initiative to establish the Kahn Charitable Trust, aiming to ‘restore happiness to the less privileged individuals worldwide’.
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Richard Branson
Any compilation of UK business owners would be incomplete without acknowledging Richard Branson. Initially, he faced severe setbacks in the cultivation and sale of Christmas trees and budgerigars. He then went on to launch a magazine called ‘Student’ in 1966, which achieved remarkable success. Branson subsequently ventured into the record business, successfully marketing a myriad of records. He was also involved in the sale of surplus stock records, although this matter didn’t proceed to court as he agreed to settle any outstanding tax dues.
Richard Branson founded Virgin Records alongside Nik Powell. Surprisingly, the name ‘Virgin’ was suggested by his early employees. Virgin Records evolved into the world’s largest independent record label, all thanks to Branson’s entrepreneurial spirit.
Today, he serves as the CEO of the Virgin Group, a conglomerate comprising companies like Virgin Mobile, Virgin Air, Virgin Galactic, and an impressive 400 other companies. He was also knighted for his contributions to business in the UK. He is a widely popular and eminent global personality due to his adventurous spirit, enjoyable ventures, and humanitarian undertakings.
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David and Simon Reuben
David and Simon Reuben, with a combined net worth of 16 billion USD, rank among the wealthiest UK business owners. Strikingly, both brothers are self-made billionaires, having established themselves in several industries. Their success stories are particularly inspiring.
They were born in India to a Jewish-Iraqi family and raised in impoverished conditions. In 1950, they moved to London with entrepreneurial aspirations in their hearts.
David ventured into scrap metal trading, while Simon toiled in the carpet industry for years before eventually acquiring England’s oldest carpet company. The Reuben brothers are quite private about their lives and wealth, known for abstaining from the lavish events they host.
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Denise Coates
Denise Coates, conferred with a CBE, stands out as one of the most successful UK business owners. Instead of simply joining her family’s bookmaking business, she wholeheartedly embraced it. She took the family business to new heights by establishing a chain of bookmaking shops and subsequently venturing into online gambling. Initially, she faced challenges in raising sufficient capital for this endeavor.
She took a huge risk by remortgaging the family business in order to raise the funds to launch bet365.com. The gamble paid off, as Bet365 soared and now earns nearly 35 billion pounds annually. Her personal net worth stands at 4.5 billion USD. She has also demonstrated generosity by donating approximately 100 million pounds to various charities in the UK and abroad.
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Laurence Graff
He is the founder of Graff Diamonds and holds a personal net worth of 5.5 billion USD as of April 2019. He is involved in every aspect of his jewelry enterprise, from sourcing and mining the raw materials to cutting, polishing, and marketing the final product. He stands as the wealthiest diamond business owner in the UK.
He was born into a Jewish family in 1938 and left school at the age of 15 to work for Schindler, a jeweler that specialized in repairing rings and creating small jewelry items in a small shop. When that shop went bankrupt, Graff began selling his jewelry designs to various jewelers across England. Soon, he established several jewelry stores of his own.
In 1960, he founded the Graff Diamonds Company. Within 6 years of launching his company, he participated in the De Beers Diamond International Awards with a design by Robert Thomas, and they emerged victorious. He then equipped himself to supply diamond jewelry to affluent individuals in the Middle East and even secured contracts to supply jewels to Hassanal Bolkiah, the 29th Sultan of Brunei. On a particular day, Prince Turki II bin Abdulaziz Al Saud walked into his shop and purchased everything, including a 14-carat diamond.
He proceeded to expand his company across Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and the US. In 2013, he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his contributions to the jewelry industry.
We have highlighted just five individuals, but there are numerous other UK business owners with remarkable achievements. For instance, James Dyson, the most prosperous engineer in the UK, has revolutionized the engineering landscape with innovative creations such as the Dual Cyclone and Dyson Ball vacuum cleaners. Alan Sugar, also known as Lord Sugar, amassed his fortune in the electronics industry. And who isn’t familiar with JK Rowling, with a net worth exceeding a billion USD? With the entrepreneurial environment in the UK continually improving, business owners are experiencing significant growth, particularly in recent times. Feel free to share your favorite UK business owner with us.
