I was a uni dropout working as a Pizza Hut delivery driver… now I’m Britain’s youngest billionaire but I don’t feel rich
A MAN who became Britain’s youngest billionaire has revealed he doesn’t value his wealth at all.
Ben Francis, 31, from Birmingham is worth £1.2billion after founding the clothing company GymShark form his parents’ garage just 12 years ago.
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Despite his new found wealth, the university drop out spoke on The SuperPower Podcast with Gian Power about his finances.
Ben shared a candid clip of the podcast on his TikTok account where he revealed his thoughts on wealth.
In the clip, he said that ‘none of it is real’ and that he doesn’t see wealth as a ‘measure of success’.
The viral video racked up 1.6 million views, and the entrepreneur added: “On paper, none of it is real”, when host Gian declared he was the UK’s youngest billionaire.
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After being asked how he feels being one of the four self made billionaires under 60-years-old around the world, he explained: “I never think about it, I don’t see it as a measure of success, it’s all on paper.”
Ben added that people assume he has a bank account with billions stashed away, but claimed it wasn’t true.
I see that as a wildly unproductive way to live.
Ben Francis
Despite sharing the reality of being a business-owner, Ben said he didn’t want to put a ‘downer’ on it and was proud of what he and the business have achieved.
No individual should ever pin their self worth on wealth net worth,” he continued.
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“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.”
Prior to founding GymShark, Ben dropped out of Aston University in 2012 and worked as a Pizza Hut delivery driver to pay his bills while getting the clothing line off the ground.
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Last year, the 31-year-old was awarded an MBE by the Prince of Wales for his services to the business sector.
Ben beamed as he received the honour from Prince William in the investiture ceremony, after he was recognised in the King’s New Year’s Honours list, with his family and wife supporting him from the crowd.
Following the announcement of his accolade, he wrote on LinkedIn: “I can’t believe it but I’ve been awarded the honour of an MBE.
“This is probably the most surreal feeling I’ve had when being given an award. I’m so grateful to all those around me who support me in all that I do at Gymshark.”
In a Forbes billionaires list released in April 2023, the father-of-two was estimated to have a net worth of $1.2billion (£992million), making him the UK’s youngest billionaire.
Gymshark, which has its headquartered in Solihull, is now sold in over 230 countries and adored by celebs such as Rita Ora and Nicole Scherzinger.
The business hasn’t just helped Ben in his career, but also his love life too.
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Ben married his model wife Robin Gallant, from Canada back in 2021 and have welcomed into the world twin boys in December 2022.
They initially met after Francis asked her to promote his brand on her social media. Since then, she moved from her home in Canada to live in the UK with him.
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