British Gymshark founder, 31, among Forbes' youngest billionaires in the world ... trends now
Gymshark founder Ben Francis, who dropped out of university to build a sportswear empire, is the only British entrepreneur to make Forbes' youngest billionaires rich list after amassing a whopping $1.3billion fortune.
The 31-year-old, who was awarded an MBE by Prince William last May, is one of 25 young billionaires to make the list who are worth a staggering $110 billion when combined together.
This year, the 25 youngest people on the Forbes’ World’s Billionaires list are all 33 or younger. Most have had a lot of assistance on the way - but a few are self-made, including Francis.
Other self-made billionaires on the list include 33-year-old Snapchat founder Evan Spiegel ($3.1billion) and 31-year-old Oculus VR tycoon Palmer Luckey ($2.3billion).
Francis, the UK's youngest billionaire, has previously said he does not see his wealth as a 'measure of success' and he only has the money 'on paper'.
In the early 2010s, the Gymshark boss was juggling lectures at Aston University, working at Pizza Hut and lifting weights at the gym - but it was his hunger for fitness that he craved the most.
Gymshark founder Ben Francis was awarded an MBE by Prince William at Windsor Castle on May 10 2023
Francis, now 31, pictured in Gymshark gym gear with his model wife Robin Callant. The pair welcomed twin sons into their lives on December 24 2022
Francis posted this picture of himself to Instagram with the caption: 'From the sewing machine to 10 Downing Street'
Francis dropped out of university in 2012 to focus on his business full time, while initially continuing to deliver pizzas around Birmingham to pay the bills.
Alongside his friend Lewis Morgan, Gymshark used to sell supplements which they bought in bulk for a small profit. But when they moved into sewing and screen printing gym clothing, their sportswear brand took off.
Morgan sold his £125million stake in the company to private equity firm General Atlantic in 2020, but Francis still owns 70 per cent of the popular brand and remains as CEO.
Francis told The SuperPower Podcast with Gian Power in November that he 'never thinks' about being one of the youngest billionaires in the world.
He said: 'I don't see it as a measure of success. and I think it's all on paper. I think people assume that there's some bank balance with my name on somewhere that has billions which is just completely untrue, but I don't want to put a downer on it, I am super proud of what we’ve achieved.
He added: 'No individual should ever pin their self worth on wealth net worth. I see that as a wildly unproductive way to live.
'I just want to focus on my job, because I don't do it for that, I do it because I work with great people and I am working on a cause that I genuinely care about and I'm passionate about.'
Gymshark, headquartered in Solihull, the West Midlands, is worn by some of the world's biggest celebrities and influencers from Rita Ora to Nicole Scherzinger.
The brand - which now sells in 230 countries - has had a couple of hiccups along the way, including when it was accused of 'virtue-signalling' in 2020 after it used pictures of a model with her love handles on show.
'Fat-phobic' followers claimed influencer Nelly London, from Brighton, 'had no business' promoting the brand's fitness wear and claimed they would boycott the 'woke warriors' over the range.
However, the entrepreneur has gone from strength to strength in his life, living a life of luxury
