Where would a budding entrepreneur or young business person go? Naturally they would seek out experienced, successful business leaders. London has been a hotbed of business activity, and thousands of people in London have achieved financial independence by way of starting their own businesses. In this article, we will discuss 10 of the most influential business leaders who were born in London, England.
Lord Alan Sugar
Starting from meager beginnings to become one of the most famous and richest businessman Lord Sugar is a walking success story. As a young boy he started his business career as a green grocer. He earned his pocket money as a young boy working in a grocery store this starting his legendary rise in the business world. Get this, he was only 21-years-old when he started Amstrad and in the 1980’s it was listed on the stock exchange. The company has gone from success to success and at one point it reached 1,474,146,000.00 American dollars. He has entered many other ventures and he has become a household name with the very successful BBC show “The Apprentice.”
Sir Richard Branson
He is noted for hating ties and he is a very charismatic business leader. He started the Virgin Group and has personal net worth is estimated to be at over 3.6 billion American dollars. He was a young phenomenon as Lord Sugar was. Starting the magazine “Student” at the age of 16-years-old so he too started his business career at a very tender age. He had the natural instinct for business as he started Virgin Records a mail order record company in 1970. He was born on July 18, 1950 and he was only 20 years old when he started this venture. We all know about Virgin today.
Martin Sorrell
He bought a controlling share of stock in WPP plc. In 1985, for $675,000 and so started his astonishing career on Madison Ave. London-born he has turned the marketing agency into a gargantuan conglomerate worth 20 billion. The company has 170,000 employees, in 112 countries, and they have over 3,000 offices worldwide. He has been known to be an investment genius and it seems like everything he touches turns to gold.
The company has invested millions in other ventures and he bought the company because it was listed on the London Stock Exchange and it became one of the most powerful institutions in the world. In the last two years it has run into some issues and Sorrell resigned as CEO in April, 2018.
Joe Lewis
Another English businessman who made good in London has a personal net worth of $ 5.3 billion and he has his fingers in many ventures. He has the knack to be in the right place at the right time which is critical in business. He is the founder and owner of The Tavistock Group which has 200 assets in 110 countries making this one of the most versatile groups in the business world. He is not only entrepreneur but he is also an avid sports fan because he does own the London Premiere League soccer team Totten ham Hotspur. He has one of the most diversified portfolios on the British Business landscape and he has had a legendary business career and he has no plans of slowing down in the near future.
Peter Jones
Is not only a successful business man but he is a business man TV star well. He is the longest standing celebrity of the BBC’s famous business show “Dragon’s Den”. He is the last original Dragon on the show and he has enjoyed a lot of success from being on the show since its inception. He is a visionary with a hard work ethic that has bigger-than-life plans for his business career.
He has boundless tenacity which is a must to become a success in business especially if you want to become very successful in business. He has preserved through some serious setbacks in his career. In his 20’s he failed at many ambitious business ventures but he always picked himself up and kept going. He lost almost $250,000 dollars ending up selling his cocktail bar.
In another sad turn of events, he lost his shirt and he had to sell everything and move back in with his parents. He started a business where he had to sleep in his office but success came quickly. The Phones Group earned over 17 million by the end of the first year.
Deborah Meaden
The first lady to join our successful business list is no stranger to failure. She moved to Italy at the tender age of 19. She started a glass and ceramic export business which really went nowhere but this did not deter her. She went on and tried her hand in the leisure and retail industry as she has headed up the family holiday business, Weststar Holidays. She sold the company for around 40 million recently.
She has showed brilliance and business savvy in running the travel company that has become very successful under her leadership. She is an actress on the “Dragon’s Den” business show—the same show that Peter Jones is on—but she joined the show in its third series. She studied business at the Business at Brighton Technical College and she has retained a 23% interest in the family Weststar Holidays business.
She learned a very valuable lesson in her business failure in Italy. She folded the deck after 18 months when it was apparent the business was not going to be successful. She said it is smarter to get out of a failing business when it is obvious it will fail in the early stages of the game. She said this is one of the most valuable lessons she has learned as a business owner. She says you must learn to know when to get out of the business when it is going to fail.
Jamal Edwards
Is a very young, successful businessman who has made major waves in the business world at the age of 25-years-old. He is the owner of SBTV which especially makes music videos for YouTube. The channel has amassed 300 million views and he wants to hit the 500 million view mark. He has plans to expand the channel into sports, business, and fashion.
He has interviewed some famous celebrities and may interview the Prime Minister. He has had some business dealings with Richard Branson—the founder of Virgin—and he may do some more work with Virgin in the future. Obviously, his channel is one of the most famous ones on You Tube. He is growing into a legend in the business world at the tender age of 25-years-old. How many 25-year-olds own a You Tube channel that has amassed 300 million views?
Pete Cashmore
Another young business genius, Pete has been said by Inq as the “most the most influential Briton and most influential Twitter user in the world in 2009”. Which is rather impressive at the age of 23 years-old but even more notable he started the tech blog “Mashable” which is very, very popular. This guy is one of the tech movers in the world today. He may be a legend in the business world.
Jacqueline Gold
She started life off on a rough note. Her father, David Gold, cried when she was born because he wanted a son. But she has proved her worth as a “she” a millions times over since her birth. She is the Chief Executive of Gold Group International companies Ann Summers and Knicker box. She has changed the world with Ann Summers Party Plans which have made the company a multi-million dollar venture. Her dynamic leadership has been integral in the amazing success of this company. She may be considered a legend in the business world and it could be she is far more successful than her father. Just think her father wanted a son but he is mighty proud of his illustrious daughter.
Victoria Beckham
Before she married –David Beckham—she was a legend already as the inventor of Posh Spice. She has been noted for marrying David Beckham and her fame doesn’t just reside in the fact that she has applied her name to a brand. Her success is attributed to her creative designs and appealing brands. It could be said she is a fashion genius and David and her have a net worth of $468 million dollars. They have become legends in their respective endeavors. She does not rely on her name but her creativity has made her a legend in the fashion world. She is one of the best designers in the fashion world today.
This concludes our discussion of ten of the most influential business leaders born in London. Some of them had humble beginnings but they turned their worlds upside down with their talents and skills. One entrepreneur’s father cried because she was born a girl instead of a boy. But look what she has accomplished.
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