Sir James Dyson's journey to becoming Britain's richest man
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Sir James Dyson's rocky ride to the top
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.
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Early life in Norfolk
The youngest of three children, Dyson was born on 2 May 1947 in the seaside town of Cromer, Norfolk on the east coast of England. His father Alec taught Classics at the prestigious Gresham's School in Holt (where Dyson was christened and whose former pupils include poet W. H. Auden and the composer Benjamin Britten). But Alec died when James was nine years old, after receiving treatment for throat and lung cancer for three years.
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Dyson goes to boarding school
Dyson attended the fee-paying Gresham's School as a boarder and happily was allowed to continue his studies there after his father's death. However, the Dyson family faced financial concerns and his mother Mary took on work as a dressmaker before later training to be a teacher.
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Dyson moves on to art school
After leaving Gresham's, James moved to London to study painting at the Byam Shaw School of Art, where he his met his future wife Deirdre Hindmarsh. At the time this was an independent art school, but in 2003 it became part of the University of the Arts London Central Saint Martins College of Arts and Design, pictured here. James spent a year here and then moved on to study furniture and interior design at the Royal College of Art in London.
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Dyson continues his studies at the Royal College of Art
It was at the Royal College of Art (RCA) that Dyson became interested in the link between engineering and design. This opened up a world of creative possibilities for improving everyday products by enhancing their design. Dyson began studying engineering alongside design at the RCA. For his final year project he built a high speed, flat-hulled fibreglass landing craft, encouraged by his mentor at the college, the inventor Jeremy Fry.
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James marries Deirdre Hindmarsh
James and Deirdre got married in Catford in 1968. At the time Dyson was still studying at the Royal College of Art and Deirdre had moved on to study graphics at Wimbledon School of Art. They moved into a house in Fulham in need of refurbishment and survived off the proceeds of their student grants. To bring in some extra cash Dyson took an evening job at a local petrol station.
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The Dyson's move to Bath
In 1971 the Dysons became parents with the arrival of their daughter Emily. When she was just a few weeks old the young family left London for Bath in the west of England. Here Dyson went to work at Rotork Controls Ltd, which was headed by Jeremy Fry, his mentor from the RCA. Dyson worked on the design of an amphibious landing craft, the Sea Truck. Fry went on to sell about 200 of these a year.
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Two more children arrive
Daughter Emily was soon joined by brothers Jake and Sam. Meanwhile Dyson had left the world of employment to work on various inventions in a garden outbuilding at their home. To help make ends meet Deirdre taught art and is even reported as saying she once taught a life drawing class in the kitchen to keep the bailiffs away. She also said that the pair became adept at surviving on very little.
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The Ballbarrow takes shape
Dyson's first commercial invention moved from idea to reality in 1974. The Ballbarrow was a version of the traditional wheelbarrow that featured a ball in place of the standard narrow wheel, making it much easier to manoeuvre. Dyson was said to be inspired to design this after seeing a standard wheelbarrow get stuck in mud. He has gone on to use the ball for manoeuvrability in other Dyson product designs.
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Dyson becomes obsessed with floor cleaning
After his father's death Dyson used to help with chores at home and discovered he hated the vacuum cleaner. Thirty years later his opinion of the gadget hadn't improved and, during a house renovation in 1978, he realised it was still ineffective at sucking up dirt. Inspiration came from an industrial sawmill that used a cyclonic separator to remove dust from the air. He hit on the idea of applying the same technology to a vacuum cleaner and he began working on a prototype.
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Dyson makes 5,127 prototypes
In fact over a period of five years Dyson made 5,127 prototypes of his vacuum, including this early version pictured, made from cardboard. His former employer Rotork funded the first production of the Rotork Cyclon 1000A. Dyson initially licensed it to an American appliance company, but it proved too expensive for the mass market, retailing at around $1,300. A revised version, however, did have some success in Japan.
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Gambling on success
Fed up with relying on other people to make his inventions a success, Dyson decided to manufacture his next vacuum cleaner himself. Using the money he'd made from the Japan sales and a further loan of around $851,000, against which he reportedly put up his house, he found the money to fund his dream.
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The Dyson DC01 launches in the UK
The Dyson DC01 vacuum cleaner launched in Britain in 1993. Its revolutionary bagless design and distinctive yellow and grey colouring ensured that it stood out from the crowd and guaranteed that it would catch shoppers' eyes in stores and catalogues. With the first models rolling off the production line, Dyson then set about selling it to retailers.
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Mail order catalogues give him his first break
Mail order catalogues were the first to show interest in the first Dyson-produced vacuum cleaner and once Dyson had got the product into a couple of brochures he also managed to get it into a few small retailers. Just two years after launch the Dyson DC01 vacuum cleaner was the best-selling vacuum cleaner in the UK, despite being priced considerably higher than the competition. It has won many awards and is displayed in museums around the world.
Back to the drawing board
With the company's almost overnight success, Dyson found himself having to spend most of his time managing the business. He hated being drawn away from his first love, design and engineering, so in 2001 he brought in Martin McCourt as CEO. McCourt launched the vacuum cleaner in the US and developed the manufacturing arm and Dyson had a little more time to literally return to the drawing board to improve on the original vacuum cleaner and come up with other inventions.
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Dyson washes up
After his vacuum success, Dyson began looking at other home appliances to improve upon, setting his sights on the washing machine next. His ContraRotator washing machine had two rotating drums that moved in opposite directions and, just like his vacuum cleaners, had a striking design. Yet, priced at $1,300 (£1,000) the machine was expensive and was not a commercial success. It ended up being discontinued.
Dyson moves into air appliances
Dyson's designs for air treatment purifiers, humidifiers, fans and heaters proved much more successful than his washing machine. Dyson also turned the hand-drier design on its head and the sleek Dyson AirBlade energy-saving hand-driers boast of being able to dry hands in less than ten seconds. This invention helped Dyson gain a strong foothold in the commercial appliance market.
Dyson enters the haircare market
Dyson took on the beauty industry in 2016 when he launched an ultra high-end hairdryer, which again borrows much from the technology of Dyson's other products. It took $65 million (£50m) to develop. The Dyson Supersonic hairdryer now retails from a steep $391.85 (£299.99) and yet still managed to become the best-selling hairdryer in the UK in 2017.
Dyson cuts the cord
Dyson launched his first cordless vacuum cleaner in 2006. Dyson now has a range of cordless cleaning options, including a robot cleaner, and has reportedly sold over 100 million cordless vacuum cleaners. Dyson announced that he was ending the production of plug-in cleaners in March 2018 to concentrate on the company's cordless offering.
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Dyson becomes a Sir
James Dyson became Sir James Dyson in 2006 when he was knighted for his services to business. He thanked his 1,500-strong workforce at the time for their part in turning his bagless vacuum cleaner into an international success story and hoped that his honour would encourage other engineers and inventors to go on to find commercial success.
As part of his efforts to give back Dyson has set up The James Dyson Foundation to encourage young people to think differently, make mistakes, invent and realise their engineering potential. It provides resources for teachers and pupils from school through to university, and it runs the James Dyson Award for designers and engineers who create products that improve on what came before and are commercially viable.
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Dyson launches Dyson School of Design Engineering
Dyson announced in 2015 that the James Dyson Foundation had donated $15.7 million (£12m) to Imperial College London so that it could open the Dyson School of Design Engineering. The facility is now running a four-year masters course in design engineering that focuses on the design of advanced products, services, experiences and systems across all fields of engineering and design. Dyson is shown pictured outside the building, aptly found next to the Science Museum.
Dyson builds a university
Dyson announced in 2016 that he would be investing $19.6 (£15m) over five years to launch a new university in Britain. The Dyson Institute of Technology, which is based by Dyson's headquarters in Wiltshire, offers fully-funded, salaried undergraduate courses. "We're offering the brightest aspiring engineers an alternative to a traditional university degree. This is not for the faint-hearted. It is a rigorous engineering education combined with a proper job," explains Dyson.
The three Dyson children have all forged impressive careers of their own. Emily, the eldest, runs the boutique Couverture and the Garbstore in London's Notting Hill. Sam, the youngest, is a musician who runs his own record label and Jake (pictured) is a successful lighting designer who now works for Dyson. In 2009, the three Dyson children were reportedly given shares in the Dyson company worth $19.6 million (£15m) each.
Jake Dyson joins the business
"We've invented an LED light with an effective cooling system. As a result it lasts for 144,000 hours," says Jake Dyson about his lighting products. Jake Dyson Products was bought by the Dyson company in 2015 for an undisclosed sum. The company was folded into the main group and the technology that Jake's company designed is now integrated into a range of Dyson products. This move has been seen by some as a sign that James is lining up Jake to be his successor at the company.
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The next generation of vacuuming
It took 17 years of development and experimentation but in 2015 Dyson launched the Dyson 360 Eye™ Robot, a vacuum that can be programmed to do the housework without you having to steer it. Because the vacuum can be updated and programmed remotely through the Dyson Link app, the robot can be continuously improved. It is still a little pricey though, retailing at $999 (£799.99).
Plans for electric cars
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
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Dyson moves to Singapore
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
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.
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Dyson owns more land than the Queen
Dyson has met the Queen on several occasions, but now he has gone one up on her and beaten her in the land stakes. He is now said to own more land in England that Her Majesty. One of the largest private landowners in the UK, it is estimated that Dyson owns around 25,000 acres, 5,000 more than the Queen. This includes his 700-acre eighteenth century Georgian manor house near his company HQ and farmland run by the family's agricultural company Beeswax Dyson Farming.
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Dyson is Britain's richest man
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"
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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