At just 31 years old, Gymshark founder Ben Francis is leading the way for Britain's youngest millionaire entrepreneurs.
Valued at £725 million and with growing storefronts, the sportswear mogul has come a long way since he sewed sportswear himself and dropped out of university to pursue his dream.
Despite falling 46 places in this year's Sunday Times rich list, Francis still secured a place at number 230 and number five in the list of the 40 richest under 40s.
Francis founded Gymshark in 2012 with his school friend Lewis Morgan at the age of 19 while working as a Pizza Hut delivery driver in Bromsgrove.
Tired of scratchy synthetic materials, he began making his own clothes from ultra-soft fabrics after his mother taught him how to sew. He then recruited influencers to use his products to increase sales, a marketing technique that is widely used today.
While studying at Aston University, Francis made the bold decision to drop out to run Gymshark full-time when the business started to take off.
The latest figures suggest the company's profits are not rising as fast in recent years, but sales are still rising – around 20 per cent in the year to July 2023.
It makes 90 per cent of its income online, but attention is starting to focus on more brick-and-mortar businesses with the opening of its second store at Westfield Stratford City, east London.
Francis leads the way for other young self-made millionaires on the 40 under 40 list, which included The Apprentice contestants and celebrities like Harry Styles.
The Duke of Westminster topped the under-40s list with a fortune of £10.127 million.
While Hugh Grosvenor, 33, is one of the richest men in the UK, he generally prefers to keep a low profile. He is reportedly very close to the royal family and the King, Queen and Prince of Wales are likely to attend his wedding to Olivia Grace Henson next month.
King Charles is Hugh's godfather and was present at his christening in 1991. Grosvenor is also a close friend of Prince Harry, who named Duke Archie's godfather.
In a story more similar to Francis's, millionaire Alex Lovén achieved 14th place on the 40 under 40 list with a fortune of £200m.
The 36-year-old saved £13,000 from his shifts at a construction company as a teenager to buy some football goals. He now sells more than 100,000 a year under his company Net World Sports.
Not far away is James Asquith, who was just 24 when he held the Guinness World Record for the youngest man to visit all 196 sovereign countries on the planet.
Now worth £182 million, the 35-year-old runs Holiday Swap, which serves as a rival to Airbnb.
Despite coming in third place on the popular BBC show The Apprentice, Susie Ma has reached great heights with her business Tropic Skincare.
The 35-year-old is now worth £73million after she convinced Lord Sugar to buy half of her company in 2011 despite being fired from the show. She bought it last year and it is now 36th on the list.
Also on the 40 under 40 list and the general rich list are the twins Oliver and Alexander Kent-Braham.
The 32-year-old started running its Marshmallow insurance business, which uses artificial intelligence to evaluate safe drivers and lower premiums, from a gym.
They are now worth £455m and have secured seventh place in the under-40s list and 299th in the overall list.
Here is a complete list of the 20 richest people under 40:
1. Duke of Westminster: £10.127 billion
2. Lady Charlotte Wellesley: £2.2 billion
3. Herman Narula: £780 million
4. Fawn and India Rose James: £750 million
5. Ben Francis: £725 million
6. Thomas Hartland-Mackie: £684 million
7. Oliver and Alexander Kent-Braham: £455m
8. Ayman Rahman and Fateha Begum: £404 million
9. Sir Lewis Hamilton: £350 million
10. Ed Sheeran: £340 million
11. Tom and Phil Beahon: £334 million
12. Timothy Goodwin and family: £245 million
13. Rory McIlroy – £225 million
14. Martin Kissinger: £200 million
15. Alex Lovén – £200 million
16. James Asquith – £182 million
17. Anthony Joshua – £175 million
18. Harry Styles: £175 million
19. Adele – £170 million
20. Dan and Melanie Marsden: £151 million
