Dragon Dens Net Worth: Who is the richest dragon?

Peter Jones

Since the show began in 2005, Peter Jones has been a dragon on the panel and has invested thousands of pounds into various businesses. According to the 2020 Sunday Times Rich List Peter Jones is worth an astonishing £450 million. When he was just 16, Peter set up his first business of making personalised computers. Although this business failed during his twenties, and he was forced to move back in with his parents. But this did not stop him as he joined another technology company, Siemens Nixdorf, the largest technology company in Europe until 1999. Peter also opened a cocktail bar in Windsor, as founded various other businesses including Wines4Business and Celsius. He now owns a TV production company, Peter Jones TV, and founded The Peter Jones Foundation and The Peter Jones Enterprise Academy. During his many years on Dragons Den, Peter has invested in plenty of businesses most prominently Red Letter Days in 2005 with fellow panellist Theo Paphitis for £250,000 all the way back in Season 1.They have since sold the company for a profit in 2017. Peter also invested £175,000 for 40% of Wonderland, a publishing business also pitched in the first season.

Deborah Meaden

Deborah joined the panel of Dragons in Season 3 as the replacement for Rachel Elnaugh. During her time on the show, she has invested a staggering £3.3 million across 63 businesses. Deborah has always been a businesswoman, so its no wonder she now has a net worth of £40 million. After Deborah left school at 16, she began studying business at Brighton Technical College. After graduating she then moved to Italy at age 19 where she set up a glass and ceramics export agency, however, the company failed after just 18 months, but that did not stop her. Deborah joined her families business, before joining Weststar Holidays where she became a shareholder. She remained there until the company was sold to Phoenix Equity Partners in 2007, and then sold again in 2007, where Deborahs remaining share was liquidated and valued at £19 million. Then in 2009, she acquired Fox Brothers and then launched The Merchant Fox in 2011. During this time Deborah was also a Dragon on Dragons Den, where she has also invested millions. In season 3, one of Deborah’s first investments was to invest with Peter Jones, £25,00 for 25% of the fashion business, Hope & Ivy.

Tej Lalvani

Tej grew up in Southern India and moved to London when he was 16. After studying at The University of Westminster he graduated with a degree in business. As of May 2019, Tej has a huge net worth of £390 million. He currently runs a property investment in London with his wife, and he was named Young Entrepreneur at the Asian Business Awards in 2012 and was also placed in the top 50 people on the GG2 Power List of the most influential Asian people in Britain. He joined Dragons Den in 2017 for the start of Season 15, whilst he was also CEO at Vitabiotics, his families business. One of his greatest investments during the show was TEA+, which he invested £75,000 into for 50% of the company. Tej has also invested in companies such as Wool Couture, Shakesphere and Look After My Bills.

Jenny Campbell

As she was born into a family of bankers, builders and printers, it is no surprise that Jenny Campbell became the successful businesswoman she is today with an estimated net worth of £24 million. After leaving school at 16 she got a job at Natwest and attended night school to earn banking qualifications. She then moved to Natwest’s head office in London, and after the company was taken over by RBS she was given a senior role of both banks. In 2006 Jenny was promoted to Head of Operations at Hanco ATM Systems, and after the 2007 recession, she wanted to buy the company. Which she eventually did in 2010, and renamed it to YourCash, and the company has continued to grow and expand. In 2014 Jenny won the Businesswoman of the year award from Vitalise, and a few years later in 2017, Jenny became a dragon on Dragons Den. She remained on the panel for two seasons, and during the show, she invested in a range of businesses, most notably Didsbury Gin where she invested £75,000  for 33.3% of the company. She also invested in other companies including Carun UK and ParkingPerx.

Theo Paphitis

  Since the age of 18 Theo knew he had a passion for retail and sales so got a job as a sales assistant on Bond Street. At age 21 he joined Legal & General, and two years later he set up his own property finance company. He then bought into NAG Telecom after noticing the rise in mobile phones, and then years after that he bought Ryman. Theo also set up Boux Avenue, and bought Robert Dyas and later acquired London Graphic Centre as well as various other retail businesses. According to The Sunday Times 2020 Rich List, he has an estimated net worth of an astounding £290 million, which is no surprise with all his success. Theo became a dragon in season 2 and remained on the panel until the end of season 10, however he did make a guest appearance in Season 17 when he temporarily stepped in for Touker Suleyman.

Duncan Bannatyne

At age 16 Duncan joined the royal navy, where he served from 1964 until 1969. When Duncan was 29 he bought an ice cream van for £450 and soon began to expand his business by buying more vans. He sold the business for £28,000 and then founded Quality Care Homes, a nursing home business which he later sold for £26 million in 1997. He has since expanded into the health club industry, and with multiple Bannatyne hotels, over 45 spas, and more than 70 health clubs across the country it is no surprise he has a shattering net worth of £515 million. Duncan was part of the original Dragons panel on Dragons Den, and he remained on the show from season 1 to 12, during which he invested in 36 businesses, including Greenpower Technologies where he invested £150,000 for a 20% share in the company.

Touker Suleyman

Touker was inspired by his dad to be a businessman, after working at his family’s restaurant when he was young, and he is now very successful with a net worth of £150 million. After he finished school Touker joined an accountancy firm. During his career, he acquired a small business which later became the Low Profile Group, and he also bought the fashion label Ghost, whilst also investing in other companies, such as Tru-Tension. Still a current dragon, Touker has been on Dragons Den since season 13 all the way back in 2015. He has so far invested over £500,000 across various investments on the show, including  Timberkits and Bad Brownie. He and fellow Dragon also invested £25,000 each for 25% of Beam Block Yoga.

Richard Farleigh

It is no surprise that Richard Farleigh is one of the 200 richest Australians, as he is a renowned businessman. During his career he has travelled the world, ran a hedge fund in Bermuda, conducted research at Oxford University, and invested in and built up various businesses. In 2006 he was suspected to have a net worth of £66 million, although that is expected to have significantly increased since then. Richard was a dragon for Seasons 3 and 4, and during his time on the show he invested in numerous companies, as he hoped to discover the next big thing.  Most memorably, Richard invested in  Levi Roots Reggae Reggae sauce with Peter Jones. Both dragons invested £25,000 into the business for a 20% stake each, and the business is estimated to be worth a huge £30 million.

Nick Jenkins

This English businessman enjoys investing in start-up businesses, but one of the reasons Nick Jenkins is so successful is because he founded MoonPig.com, the online greeting cards retailer we all seem to love. During his early career, Nick worked for Glencore in Moscow as a commodity trader, and he is also a member of the Impact Ventures UK Investment Committee, which focuses on investing in innovation of social issues. Nick is now estimated to have an astonishing net worth of £150 million. Nick was on Dragons Den as a dragon during seasons 13 and 14,  and during his time on the show he invested £842,500 across 8 deals. His most successful investment was Snaffling Pig, where Nick invested £70,000 for a 20% stake in the business. Soon after sales rose from less than £500,000 to over £5 million.

Hilary Devey

Hilary Devey is well known for many things, not only is she a fantastic businesswoman, she is also an entrepreneur, as well as a tv presenter and personality with an estimated net worth of £60 million. Hilary has an Honorary Doctorate of Business Administration from The University of Wolverhampton, as well as an Honorary Doctorate of Law from the University of Leicester. She made most of her money launching Pall-Ex, which was a palletised freight network. Back in 2008, Hilary was awarded the Vitalise Woman of the Year Award. Hilary was a member of the dragon’s panel in seasons 9 and 10 of Dragons Den, during which she made 8 deals. One of her most memorable deals was in Kiddimoto, a children’s balance bike company when she and Duncan Bannatyne invested £75,000 for a 30% stake in the business.

Kelly Hoppen

Kelly’s career started when she was just 16 when she got to design a family friends kitchen. Since then she has designed homes, boats, hotels, offices, restaurants, and even aircraft, and she is now worth an estimated £50 million. Kelly has designed a range of things for a variety of clients which even include celebrities, such as David and Victoria Beckham. Kellly was a dragon on Dragons Den for seasons 11 and 12, and during her time on the show, she made 5 deals. Some of her most successful investments were investing £30,000 to Skinny Tan for 5% of the business, and £50,000 to phone repair specialist Reviveaphone for 25% of their business.