Who is Michelle Mone? Entrepraneur's rise and fall explained

Glasgow Times

27-05-2025

Michelle Mone OBE, also known as Baroness Mone, is a Scottish businesswoman and life peer.
One of the UK's most high-profile businesswomen, one of her businesses is now under investigation by the National Crime Agency.
She is also on leave from the House of Lords and has been stripped of the Conservative whip. And this is her story.
Who is Michelle Mone?
Michelle Mone OBE, 53, is a Scottish businesswoman and entrepreneur.
Baroness Mone is also a peer in the House of Lords, but is on leave due to the investigation.
She was born in October 1971 and grew up in Dennistoun in Glasgow.
Baroness Mone left school at 15 with no qualifications to pursue a career in modelling.
She has a number of businesses, but set up what is perhaps the two most notable, MJM International Ltd and lingerie company Ultimo in 1996, with her former husband, Michael Mone.
In 2013, after their marriage collapsed, Ultimo was transferred to Ultimo Brands International Ltd.
The following year, Baroness Mone sold the majority of her stake to MAS Holdings and in 2015, she resigned from the boards of MJM International Ltd and Ultimo Brands International Ltd.
In 2018, Ultimo announced it was ceasing trading within the UK.
In 2010, Baroness Mone was honoured with an OBE for her outstanding contribution to business.
Despite originally being a Labour supporter, she defected to the Conservatives in 2010 and became a Conservative life peer in 2015.
Now the Baroness is married to Scottish businessman Douglas Barrowman.
What is Michelle Mone's net worth?
According to Celebrity Net Worth, the Baroness has a net worth of $120 million (£88 million).
Michelle Mone made her money through various business ventures (Image: PHOTOGRAPHER:Wattie Cheung) Other business ventures of Baroness Mone include weight-loss pills, a fake tan product via Ultimo Beauty, overseas residential development and cryptocurrency.
Has Michelle Mone been charged? Investigation explained
Baroness Mone is being investigated for personal protective equipment (PPE) fraud by the National Crime Agency (NCA).
The Baroness and her husband and Doug Barrowman, have been under fire over the pair's involvement with PPE supplier Medpro.
During the height of the pandemic, PPE was low and supplies were needed quickly.
In a bid to get PPE faster, the UK government avoided the normal contracts for the NHS that have to be made public and instead looked for other quicker options, with the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) offering £12bn to companies with PPE.
This included Medpro, who, in exchange for PPE, got two contracts, one at £80m for masks and the second for £120m for gowns.
Watch our interview with Baroness Mone and Doug Barrowman here - https://t.co/yqSKjuyRbj — Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) December 17, 2023
However, only the masks were of standard and used as the gowns were found to not be suitable, seeing the NHS never used them
It later emerged that PPE Medpro was controlled by people connected to Doug Barrowman, however, both he and the Baroness denied any links to the company.
In January 2022, the House of Lords Commissioner for Standards and the National Crime Agency launched investigations into Mone's links to the contracts.
Baroness Mone announced a leave of absence from the House of Lords that December "to clear her name" amid the allegations.
Shortly after, the UK government announced plans to sue PPE Medpro for £122 million plus costs over the defective items.
The couple have since admitted they do have links to the company and shared they made 30% profits from the contracts, with Barrowman earning a reported £60m from the deal.
To date, no criminal charges have been brought forward.
Recommended reading:
How to watch the Michelle Mone documentary
The BBC documentary, The Rise and Fall of Michelle Mone, will be told over two episodes.
The first part is on BBC Two on Wednesday, May 28, at 9 pm.
A synopsis reads: "The rise and spectacular fall of one of the UK's most high-profile businesswoman and member of the House of Lords, Baroness Michelle Mone - from rags to riches to a possible jail term."