Sir James Dyson's journey to becoming Britain's richest man
Sir James Dyson's rocky ride to the top
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He may have given his name to one of the most iconic designs of the 20th century, the Dyson bagless vacuum, but the road to success has not always been smooth for Sir James Dyson. The British inventor now holds the title of Britain's richest man according to the Sunday Times Rich List 2020 after increasing his fortune by £3.6 billion ($4.4bn) in a year, but to amass his fortune he’s faced pitfalls, rejection and personal tragedy, as well as his fair share of controversy. Click or scroll through to take a look at the 73-year-old entrepreneur's fascinating story.
Early life in Norfolk
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Dyson goes to boarding school
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Dyson moves on to art school
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Dyson continues his studies at the Royal College of Art
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James marries Deirdre Hindmarsh
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The Dyson's move to Bath
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Two more children arrive
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The Ballbarrow takes shape
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Dyson becomes obsessed with floor cleaning
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Dyson makes 5,127 prototypes
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Gambling on success
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The Dyson DC01 launches in the UK
Mail order catalogues give him his first break
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Back to the drawing board
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Dyson washes up
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Dyson moves into air appliances
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Dyson enters the haircare market
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Dyson cuts the cord
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Dyson becomes a Sir
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The James Dyson Foundation
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Dyson launches Dyson School of Design Engineering
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Dyson builds a university
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A family affair
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Jake Dyson joins the business
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The next generation of vacuuming
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Plans for electric cars
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In recent years Dyson has been working on a battery-powered super clean electric car, which he was planning to launch in 2020. The inventor put $2.61 billion (£2 billion) of his own money into the research and development of the vehicle and, just like all the other Dyson designs, it's expected to look out of the ordinary with Dyson vowing that it will be "radically different" to other electric cars entering the market.
Side hustles that turned into multimillion-dollar businesses
Dyson moves to Singapore
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Dyson was a vocal supporter of Brexit, and even urged politicians to walk away from the EU with no deal. So the announcement that Dyson's headquarters were to be relocated to Singapore in early 2019 caused some outrage in Sir James's homeland. While the company's CEO Jim Rowan said the decision was not Brexit-inspired, but about "future-proofing" the company, it's notable that Singapore and the EU had just agreed a free trade agreement.
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Joining the fight against coronavirus
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Coronavirus has completely changed life across the world, as countries are in lockdown and health services fight to manage and care for the growing number of patients suffering from the disease. Dyson has tried to rise to the challenge, and in the space of only 10 days the company's workers designed and produced a new ventilator prototype called the CoVent after reportedly receiving an emergency order for 10,000 units from the UK's National Health Service (NHS). However, regulatory approval from Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for the ventilator was slow to come (a condition of the order) and in late April the British government told the firm that the ventilators were no longer needed. Dyson had spent £20 million ($24.2m) on the project, but is not going to seek public money to cover this.
Read about the other companies leading the fight against coronavirus
Dyson owns more land than the Queen
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Dyson is Britain's richest man
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He may have had a slow start in business, but his patience and tenacity eventually paid off. Dyson now has an estimated net worth of £16.2 billion according to the Sunday Times Rich List 2020, after seeing his wealth increase by £3.6 billion ($4.4bn) in the last year, while other British billionaires' fortunes have shrunk due to the pandemic. The Dyson Company's 58-strong product line generated sales of £4.4 billion ($5.3bn) in 2018, and it looks as. The Dyson Company employ 3,500 engineers around the world and claims to invest $10 million (£7.7m) a week in product development.
"I don't choose glamorous products"
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Sir James Dyson is now 73, but he's showing no signs of slowing down. Reflecting on his own career in an interview with wired.co.uk, Dyson, who doesn't have an engineering degree, said: "I don't choose glamorous products like iPhones, but products that people hate, or almost despise. I quite like taking muck and turning it into something more interesting." This is an approach that has impacted and redefined the design and engineering industries, as well as the way we live, in equal measure.
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