It’s normal to feel curious about how the wealthy made their money. The UK ranks third globally by proportion of millionaires, behind mainland China and the United States. But what truly grabs people’s attention is billionaires. These are the ultra-wealthy who are much rarer not just in the UK but worldwide.
Most people are familiar with the richest global figures in the world, which include the likes of Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and Warren Buffett, but the list doesn’t end there. We’re here to pull back the curtains and look at five British self-made billionaires and how they built their fortunes. Their stories are inspiring to budding entrepreneurs and anyone with a desire to build wealth.
Sir Richard Branson
Let’s kick off our list of British self made billionaires with arguably the most well-known individual. Widely recognised as one of the most iconic British billionaires, Sir Richard Branson is an entrepreneur with a big personality, a lot of creativity, and zero aversion to risk-taking. His motto often seems to be that the bigger the risk, the more attractive the venture is.
Branson began his first business venture in the 1960s when he was only 16 years old. Business aptitude seems to run through his veins, and he tapped into that skill early in life. Over the years, he has founded many businesses, including Virgin Records, Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Holidays, Virgin Blue, and Virgin Mobile. Just like with some of the world’s other big tech billionaires, Branson also started a space-tourism company called Virgin Galactic.
For all the monumental business decisions he’s made, he’s also heavily involved in charity work. Virgin Unite is an excellent example, acting as a non-profit, independent foundation.
As is the case with all entrepreneurs, you win some and you lose some. Not all of Branson’s ideas and investments have proven profitable, with Virgin Cars, Virgin Cola, and Virgin Clothing being a few of the failed businesses. However, that never stopped him from venturing forward.
Sir Philip Nigel Ross Green
Like many successful entrepreneurs, Sir Philip Nigel Ross Green began his empire in a rather basic way. He didn’t launch or purchase one big company; rather, he built wealth and assets over time. As chairman of Arcadia Group, he oversaw a portfolio that included well-known retailers like Miss Selfridge, Topshop, and Topman. He values style and market appeal, as shown by his association with prominent fashion retailers.
Unfortunately, like so many others, his retailers suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sales fell, and Arcadia Group entered administration in November 2020.
Beyond his business pursuits, Green has also been involved in charitable foundations and even stepped into the political realm when Prime Minister David Cameron commissioned him to write a report that focused on government efficiency. His net worth is estimated to be US$1.4 billion as of 2025.
Denise Coates
For those who love online casinos and gambling in general, you’ll appreciate this next billionaire entrepreneur on the list. Denise Coates is a self-made businesswoman, founder, joint chief executive, and majority shareholder of the wildly famous online betting website, Bet365. Coates’ brother John also helped launch the company.
Bet365 isn’t just popular in the UK; it is one of the largest online casinos and bookies in the world. Part of what makes it a favourite among players is that Bet365 accepts flexible, privacy-conscious payment options that have now become increasingly common among regulated casinos in the UK.
Looking at Coates’ beginnings, her professional training is in accounting. She then dipped her toes in betting shops by purchasing a few that her family owned and selling them to Coral, a large UK-based bookmaker. After that, there was no stopping Coates’ determination. She purchased the Bet365 online domain in 2000 and launched the platform the following year. It is estimated that Coates is worth almost US$9 billion as of 2025. What’s even more shocking is that her valuation continues to grow year over year.
Laurence Graff
When you think about high-end jewellery, diamonds are typically in the mix. It’s the diamond industry that allowed Laurence Graff to skyrocket to billionaire status. Unlike some other entrepreneurs who spend years in school learning about how to operate a business, Graff left school when he was just 15 years old. He became a diamond dealer immediately, and in 1960, he started his business, Graff Diamonds.
Graff Diamonds is so successful that it has retail locations worldwide. Graff has a net worth of just under £5 billion.
John Caudwell
Next up, we’ve got John Caudwell, another self-made Brit who can call himself a billionaire. His net worth is estimated to be £2.25 billion. Caudwell came from a modest British background, and by no means did he have family money to back up his plans. In 1987, Caudwell recognised a potential new market emerging and figured it was wise to get in on the ground floor.
He began his empire by selling mobile phones. In the late ‘80s, mobile phones were still a very new technology, so it took vision to move forward. He and his brothers founded a company called SinglePoint around 1993. It was a UK mobile service provider that ended up doing very well. In 2003, Singlepoint was purchased by Vodafone for a whopping £650 million. Rather than throw in the towel and retire, Caudwell used the money to fund a new business called Phones 4U. Only a few years later, in 2006 and again in 2011, Caudwell sold his shares of Phones 4U. By that point, the company had become the biggest independent mobile phone retailer in the UK.
The UK Offers the Perfect Environment for Budding Entrepreneurs
This is nowhere near an exhaustive list of the self-made billionaires in Britain. The fact that there are numerous self-made billionaires is proof that the UK offers the perfect business environment for budding entrepreneurs. The UK bridges the cultural and economic divide seamlessly between Europe and North America. It’s something to feel excited about that Britain produces such creative, motivated, and hard-working entrepreneurs.
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