Rank #3023
Ben Francis
Net worth $1.2B
Fitness clothing · United Kingdom
- Born
- Jun 04, 1992
- Age
- 33
- Source
- Fitness clothing
- Residence
- Birmingham
- Citizenship
- United Kingdom
- Marital status
- Children
- 0
- Education
- Drop Out, Aston University
Net worth over time
Biography
- Ben Francis is the founder and CEO of Solihull, England-based sportswear brand Gymshark.
- Francis sold a 21% stake to private equity firm General Atlantic in August 2020, in a deal that valued the company at $1.45 billion; he owns 70%.
- He cofounded the company with his friend Lewis Morgan in his parents' garage in 2012 at age 19, when he was still a college student delivering pizzas.
- Gymshark grew thanks to partnerships with fitness influencers on social media, paying them small amounts to wear the company's gear in their videos.
- The company also has an office in Denver and opened its first brick-and-mortar store on London's Regent Street in October 2022.
- Francis built two fitness apps when he was an 18-year-old college student.
- Gymshark started out selling supplements, but Francis and Morgan quickly pivoted to selling fitness gear they made with a screen printer and sewing machine.