Fitness entrepreneur Ben Francis has shot to riches since launching Gymshark aged 19. What is Ben Francis’ net worth in 2020?
Quick off the mark
Francis started attending a gym as a teenager. He later realised the “structure, consistency and work ethic” he found at the gym “could be applied to different areas of [his] life.”
As a young teenager, he obsessed over making websites. His first business sold car licence plates online. When he got his first iPhone, he started developing and building apps.
This led to the development of Fat Loss Abs Guide and iPhysique, both of which are listed in the iOS App Store charts. However, Francis concedes, “in 2011 competition wasn’t particularly high.”
Nevertheless, he says, “it was an incredible feeling to see my creations in the top charts on the Apple App Store pages.”
Ben Francis’ journey from novice app maker to multimillionaire
In 2012, aged 19, Francis launched Gymshark with school friend Lewis Morgan. Working at Pizza Hut for £5 an hour, Francis couldn’t afford to invest in a large amount of stock straight off the bat.
Instead, he drop-shipped from other vendors and added a small margin for himself.
Drop shopping is a way of conducting retail business whereby the seller accepts orders without maintaining a stockpile. It eliminates the costs of keeping a warehouse, but has its risks.
Gymshark was born in July 2012.
What is Ben Francis’ net worth?
The 28-year-old is a multimillionaire, but the word “multimillionaire” doesn’t quite cover how rich he is. As of August 2020, Ben Francis is worth £700 million.
This summer, Gymshark sold a 21 per cent stake to US private equity firm General Atlantic. The deal valued the company at more than £1 billion. Because Francis still owns 70 per cent of it, he’s worth at least £700 million.
He owes part of his success to being an early sponsor of social media influencers. Another part, he says, he owes to the coronavirus crisis.
“Commercially, it’s been quite good in the sense that people are shopping more online and people are running, cycling and doing home workouts more than ever before,” he said in an interview with the BBC.
What does he spend his money on?
According to The Times, Ben Francis holds a season ticket at Aston Villa. He is also a car and motorcycle enthusiast – £700 million will buy a lot of those.
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