Dragons' Den rich list - how they made their fortunes and challenger Steven Bartlett - Mirror Online

There's a new kid on the block in tonight's new series of Dragons' Den - and he's already ruffled some feathers.

Marketing mogul Steven Bartlett has become the youngest Dragon in the BBC show's history at the age of just 29-years-old.

With Vitabiotics boss Tej Lalvani departing the Den, a space opened up a new millionaire to sit in front of some nervous entrepreneurs with a massive pile of cash in front of them.

It may have started off as smiles all round, but Steven has already clashed with some of the veteran Dragons while trying to make investments in the brand new series, which starts tonight on BBC Two.

Returning stars Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden, Touker Suleyman and Sara Davies are definitely looking over their shoulders now.

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Since first airing in 2005, 18 straight-talking business titans have induced terror in those brave enough to pitch for an investment into their business.

They are not afraid to say exactly how they feel, but it's not just the entrepreneurs who get on their bad side.

The Dragons had endured many struggles while battling each other, trading blows with on-screen and finding issues with the companies they invest in away from the cameras.

So how does Steven's wealth stack up against his fellow Dragons?

Here is a look at how they made their incredible fortunes and which one is the richest.

Peter Jones

The only Dragon still standing from the very first series 17 years ago is the mighty Peter Jones.

The 55-year-old business mogul started making money as a youngster by setting up his own tennis coaching school.

When he was just 16 he set up a business making personal computers under his own brand.

However, his path to riches hit a bump in the road when his company failed in his twenties and he was forced to move out of his three-bed home and back in with his parents.

Peter went on to open his own Windsor cocktail bar based on the Tom Cruise movie Cocktail and set up Phones International Group in 1998.

He appeared in the very first episode of Dragons' Den in 2005, literally and metaphorically dwarving the rest of the investors.

In 2005, he teamed up with Theo Paphitis to buy gift experience company Red Letter Days from their fellow Dragon Rachel Elnaugh after it went into administration.

Peter launched the Peter Jones Foundation in 2005, which runs the Peter Jones Enterprise Academy and the Tycoon in Schools initiative and in 2009 he was made a CBE for services to business, enterprise and young people.

The business tycoon, who owns a TV production named Peter Jones TV, became owner and chief executive of Jessops in 2013.

That year, Peter demonstrated his personal commitment to the resurgence of the British High Street when he relaunched 36 Jessops stores across the country.

During his time in the Den, Peter has invested a staggering total of £5,983,167 in fledgling businesses.

Some of his most memorable deals include Love da Popcorn, Bare Naked Foods and Rempods, reminiscence pods for Dementia patients.

But he is definitely most famous for putting his money into Reggae Reggae Sauce, which has turned Levi Roots into a millionaire himself.

Peter believes it was "one of my most successful investments from the show" and still remains a brand shareholder.

According to the Sunday Times Rich List in 2021, Peter is worth an estimated £1.157bn.

While his place in the standings went down from 137th in the previous year to 150th in 2021, his wealth increased by a whopping £65m.

Steven Bartlett

The youngest Dragon in Den history, 29-year-old Steven Bartlett has had quite the life already.

After dropping out of university at the age of 18, Bartlett resorted to shoplifting from corner shops to stop himself from going hungry.

Steven founded the social media marketing company Social Chain from his bedroom in Manchester at the age of just 21.

By the time he turned 27, the company had gone public and then merged with German retailer Lumaland and left the business in 2020 with an estimated market value of over £400 million.

As well as a businessman, Steven is also a speaker, author, content creator and host of one of Europe’s biggest podcasts, The Diary of a CEO, which rakes in over £1 million a year in advertising.

He is an investor in, and creative director of, Atai Life Sciences, a biopharmaceutical firm aiming to transform the treatment of mental health disorders, and sits on the board of Huel - one of the UK’s fastest growing e-commerce companies.

Recently, Steven has launched two new businesses, Flight Story, a company focused on building resilient retail investor communities around great public companies.

He also started Thirdweb, which is a platform that makes it easy to build web3 applications.

Speaking about joining the Den, he told The Mirror: "Hanging out with Peter Jones – I thought we’d been best mates for 10 years. And Deborah was wonderful to me.

"I’ve got just the most respect for both of them, and the rest of the Dragons, but obviously I’ve been watching Deborah and Peter since I was 12, looking up at the screen, pausing Sky TV and pretending I was a Dragon.

"I was a bit of a fanboy. It’s just a tremendous honour."

It hasn't all been plain sailing as Steven has already clashed with some of the Dragons, including Touker Suleyman, who says to him: "What do you know about business? Oh come on!"

Steven responds: "What do I know about business? I built a £300million business at 28 years old."

Touker Suleyman

Cheeky Touker Suleyman brought his 40 years' retail and manufacturing experience into the Den back in 2015.

After starting out in a chartered accountancy firm, Touker was introduced to the fashion business while doing an audit and kicked off his retail career at the age of 18.

He entered into a joint venture in a leather factory and soon after established a clothing manufacturer supplying to some of the biggest names of the British high street.

But the high-flying businessman, now 68, was brought back down to earth when he bought a stake in clothing business Mellins.

Auditors identified significant debt behind one of his business ventures and he had six weeks to find a whopping £2 million pounds.

Unfortunately a potential investor pulling out at the last minute, forcing the business into liquidation, and poor Touker was forced to sell his house and start again from nothing.

He acquired a small cash-and-carry business which subsequently became Low Profile Group, a clothing manufacturer supplying M&S.

Then Touker bought quintessentially British menswear brand Hawes & Curtis for £1 when it was about to go into administration.

He turned Hawes & Curtis' fortunes around and built a thriving international clothing manufacturer, with turnover rising from £600,000 in 2001 to £30m in 2014.

Touker is also the man credited with reinventing the seminal 90s womenswear label, Ghost and is now a serial entrepreneur, backing seven retail and commercial property businesses.

With his total invested in the Den standing at £1,877,666, Touker's best deals have been for Beamblock Yogo, Timberkits, Bad Brownie and Collagin.

In 2015, The Sunday Times estimated Touker's fortune to be in excess of £200million.

Deborah Meaden

Deborah Meaden has been on our screens for years but didn't actually enter the Den until third series.

Destined to be a successful entrepreneur, Deborah launched her first business straight out of college at the age of 19.

She started a glass and ceramics import company, supplying stores including Harvey Nichols, but unfortunately it failed after 18 months.

Not deterred from the business world, Deborah took on a franchise for Italian clothing company Stefanel, setting up one of the first in the UK.

The she operated a Prize Bingo concession at Butlin's and later joined her family business, Weststar Holidays, and eventually became Managing Director

In 1999 she acquired the major shareholding in a management buyout, later selling the company for £33m whilst retaining a 23% stake which she then sold in 2007 when Weststar was bought for £83m.

Next up for Deborah was acquiring woollen cloth manufacturers Fox Brothers and she is now a full time investor with a wide ranging portfolio.

This includes Gripit innovative plasterboard fixings, luxury 'Made in Britain' site The Merchant Fox, ‘no nasties’ children’s toiletries brand Good Bubble, women’s fashion label Hope and Ivy, and Billy and Margot nutritious dog food and treats.

Over the years Deborah has invested a whopping £4,786,000 in businesses such as Yee Kwan Ice Cream, Marxman and Boot Buddy.

One of Deborah's biggest Den successes came back in 2006 when she bought into Magic Whiteboard, a portable A1 whiteboard in a roll that can be stuck onto many different surfaces.

The 62-year-old went in with Theo Paphitis to invest £100,000 for a 40% stake in the company, which has reportedly become their best ever deal.

Now used in schools up and down the country, the owners bought back Deborah and Theo's shares in 2014 for a whopping £800,000, which is eight times what they paid for them.

According to Spear's magazine, Deborah's net worth is around £40million

Sara Davies

Sara Davies became the youngest ever Den star when she joined in 2019 at the age of just 35, a record that has just been broken.

The businesswoman founded Crafter's Companion, a retail business specialising in crafting, 13 years ago from her bedroom at university.

Spotting a gap in the market for an envelope-making tool for card makers, Sara invented one named The Envelope with the help of her engineer Dad.

Crafters bought them in their thousands, catapulting her business to success and turning over £500,000 by the time she graduated.

Sara, who has been married to husband Simon since 2007, credits him with helping co-found her thriving company, which now turns over £34million a year

The business exports to more than 40 countries worldwide and employs more than 190 staff in UK, the US and across Europe.

Sara is the recipient of over 25 business awards and in 2016 was recognised for services to the economy with an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list.

But she has stated that Crafter's Companion isn't her number one business success, but actually being able to be a "mam, wife and a businesswoman" at the same time.

Despite not being around for long, Sara has already invested a total of £1,118,666 in Den business.

These include Malaysian Chilli Paste Mak Tok, cutting tool Pipe Easy and Shower Gem, a storage solution for bathrooms.

She also proved to be a big hit while competing in last year's series of Strictly Come Dancing.

Bottom of the list but still not to be sniffed at, Inside Growth report Sara's net worth to be £37million.

*Dragons' Den airs Thursdays on BBC One at 8pm

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