Latest news with #SimonNixon
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Billionaire's holiday home in stunning Welsh village with a 'bloody awful' caveat
Billionaire Simon Nixon, who made his fortune through the website has been crowned as the second-richest man in Wales, according to the Sunday Times Rich List. The tech entrepreneur co-founded the website in 1993. However, before the website and the billions, Mr Nixon grew up in Flintshire, North Wales, although he was born in Lincolnshire. Mr Nixon went on to make his company public in 2007, and had sold all his shares in by 2016. The billionaire had indicated an intention to leave Britain to Cheshire Live as the weather here was 'bloody awful'. READ MORE: 'SWAT police' with 'large rifles' seen as roads sealed off in Cardiff READ MORE: No-one recognised this quiet man stood in a Welsh town centre - but he's made billions from us He said at the time: 'I have been looking. For a long time I have wanted to spend more time in a climate where the weather is better. The whole point of having financial independence is to enhance your standard of living. 'Don't get me wrong, if I could combine a higher standard of living with lower tax that would be an advantage.' Love dreamy Welsh homes? Sign up to our newsletter here Mr Nixon is reported to have moved from Chester in England to Jersey in 2013, where he owns a multi-million dollar home, according to Forbes. Mr Nixon presently has investments in Monzo, and also makes money from his holiday home website Simon Escapes where he rents out his personal collection of luxury homes around the world from Cornwall to Malibu. The billionaire who is currently worth £1.95bn of propertY around the globe and also owns a luxury pad in Wales. He bought the Borth Cottage in Abersoch, Gwynedd in around 2011, hailing the location as Wales' Côte d'Azur. After shelling out over £1.2m on a makeover for the property, the billionaire had hoped that this luxurious property would help local businesses in the area. Speaking to Wales Online in 2013, Mr Nixon said that if her had wanted to make money, he would have invested in something else. He said at the time: 'I want the area to prosper and do well. For me, if the area becomes an all-year round place for tourists that would be my goal.' Mr Nixon also believed that Abersoch's Coconut Kitchen was among the best Thai restaurants around. He said: 'All the fish comes from the local area, the cafes are great too and so is the surfing school. 'There are so many good facilities around that I would like to see people use – have the cafes open all year round, for example.' Though the property was initially meant to be a residence for the billionaire, but he decided against it, as he said: 'I would have felt really guilty about this. Properties are meant to be lived in – they need to breathe, and it isn't good for the area if nobody is around. 'Now people will be there for about 45 weeks of the year, people who appreciate and respect the house and its location.' Mr Nixon's luxury lets can be rented out as part of his Simon's Escapes business.
Wales Online
18-05-2025
- Business
- Wales Online
Billionaire's holiday home in stunning Welsh village with a 'bloody awful' caveat
Billionaire's holiday home in stunning Welsh village with a 'bloody awful' caveat He described the coastal spot as Wales' Côte d'Azur Simon Nixon, the co-founder of (Image: Western Mail ) Billionaire Simon Nixon, who made his fortune through the website has been crowned as the second-richest man in Wales, according to the Sunday Times Rich List. The tech entrepreneur co-founded the website in 1993. However, before the website and the billions, Mr Nixon grew up in Flintshire, North Wales, although he was born in Lincolnshire. Mr Nixon went on to make his company public in 2007, and had sold all his shares in by 2016. The billionaire had indicated an intention to leave Britain to Cheshire Live as the weather here was 'bloody awful'. He said at the time: 'I have been looking. For a long time I have wanted to spend more time in a climate where the weather is better. The whole point of having financial independence is to enhance your standard of living. 'Don't get me wrong, if I could combine a higher standard of living with lower tax that would be an advantage.' Love dreamy Welsh homes? Sign up to our newsletter here Mr Nixon is reported to have moved from Chester in England to Jersey in 2013, where he owns a multi-million dollar home, according to Forbes. Article continues below Mr Nixon presently has investments in Monzo, and also makes money from his holiday home website Simon Escapes where he rents out his personal collection of luxury homes around the world from Cornwall to Malibu. The billionaire who is currently worth £1.95bn of propertY around the globe and also owns a luxury pad in Wales. Abersoch is an in-demand destination in Wales (Image: Ian Cooper/North Wales Live ) He bought the Borth Cottage in Abersoch, Gwynedd in around 2011, hailing the location as Wales' Côte d'Azur. After shelling out over £1.2m on a makeover for the property, the billionaire had hoped that this luxurious property would help local businesses in the area. Speaking to Wales Online in 2013 , Mr Nixon said that if her had wanted to make money, he would have invested in something else. He said at the time: 'I want the area to prosper and do well. For me, if the area becomes an all-year round place for tourists that would be my goal.' Mr Nixon also believed that Abersoch's Coconut Kitchen was among the best Thai restaurants around. He said: 'All the fish comes from the local area, the cafes are great too and so is the surfing school. 'There are so many good facilities around that I would like to see people use – have the cafes open all year round, for example.' Though the property was initially meant to be a residence for the billionaire, but he decided against it, as he said: 'I would have felt really guilty about this. Properties are meant to be lived in – they need to breathe, and it isn't good for the area if nobody is around. 'Now people will be there for about 45 weeks of the year, people who appreciate and respect the house and its location.' Article continues below Mr Nixon's luxury lets can be rented out as part of his Simon's Escapes business.
BBC News
16-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Sunday Times Rich List 2025 reveals Wales' most wealthy
The Sunday Times rich list has revealed Wales' wealthiest year's edition of the annual shortlist sees Cardiff-born billionaire Sir Michael Moritz and wife Harriet Heyman return to the top spot with a wealth of £4.435bn - a fall of £168m compared with 2024. Flintshire technology entrepreneur Simon Nixon, co-founder of takes the second spot as he is worth £1.95bn, while Specsavers founder Douglas Perkins and family, from Llanelli in Carmarthenshire, come in at third. This year's rich list reveals the largest fall in the number of billionaires in the guide's 37-year history, from 177 in 2022 to 156 this year. Claiming first place on the list along with writer and sculptor Ms Heyman, Sir Michael moved to the United States after graduating from Oxford in 1974. He made his fortune after investing in tech start-ups such as Google and PayPal during his time at venture capital firm Sequoia Capital, before leaving the firm in 2023 after 38 years. He previously told BBC Wales: "All you need do is listen to very smart people and sift out the ideas that are unworthy or implausible... I wouldn't pretend for a moment that I hadn't made lots of mistakes." Newport-born telecoms tycoon and Celtic Manor Resort owner Sir Terry Matthews returns to his position as fourth on the Welsh rich list, with a wealth of £ fifth spot goes to Cardiff-born property investor and West Ham United owner David Sullivan and family. Meanwhile, Alex Loven has been named the wealthiest person in Wales under the age of Loven, 37, began selling cricket bats to his schoolmates when he was 13 before founding Wrexham-based Net World Sports. He is now worth £262m, up from £200m last year, making him the 18th richest person under the age of 40 in the company made headlines last year when it installed a "woke-free zone" flag at their headquarters without planning the time Mr Loven defended the move, saying a "cloak of wokeness" had taken over society, education and media. The Sunday Times Rich List 2025 for Wales 1. Sir Michael Moritz and Harriet Heyman - £4.435bn (down £186m)2. Simon Nixon - £1.95bn (up £70m)3. Douglas Perkins and family - £1.539bn (down £48m)4. Sir Terry Matthews - £1.338bn (down £2m)5. David Sullivan and family - £1.118bn (down £50m) The 2025 Sunday Times Rich List identifies the 350 richest people in the UK based on identifiable wealth including land, property and assets, such as art and racehorses and significant shares in publicly quoted companies - but excludes bank year's list of 350 individuals and families, including Sir Elton John, Sir Mick Jagger and Sir Lewis Hamilton, together holding a combined wealth of £772.8bn - a sum larger than the annual GDP of figure is down 3% compared with last year, while this year's decline in the number of billionaires is the sharpest Watts, compiler of the guide, said The Sunday Times Rich List was "changing". "Our billionaire count is down and the combined wealth of those who feature in our research is falling. We are also finding fewer of the world's super rich are coming to live in the UK," he said.
Wales Online
16-05-2025
- Business
- Wales Online
The Sunday Times Rich List reveals the eight richest people in Wales
The Sunday Times Rich List reveals the eight richest people in Wales Many on the list have lost some of their wealth over the past year Sir Michael Moritz , Sir Terry Matthews, Simon Nixon The richest people in Wales have been revealed as eight are named as some of the wealthiest people in the UK. Included on this year's edition of The Sunday Times Rich List is the couple behind Specsavers and the owner of Admiral. The list was published today - May 16 - and is updated yearly. It ranks the 350 richest people in the UK and is printed in a special edition of The Sunday Times Magazine. This year's list of individuals and families have a combined wealth of £772.8bn. The survey is based on wealth including land, property, other assets such as art and racehorses, or significant shares in publicly-quoted companies and excludes bank accounts, which the Sunday Times does not have access to. To get a spot on the list you must have a minimum wealth of £350 million with famous names such as Sir Elton John, Lord Lloyd-Webber, Sir Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Euan Blair, Sir Lewis Hamilton. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here Since the list's peak of 177 billionaires recorded in the UK in 2022, the number has since dwindled each year to now 156 named in 2025, the sharpest decline yet. Not only has the number of billionaires dropped but the combined wealth of the people named on the list has reduced by three percent to £772.8 billion. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here Article continues below The top five named this year all hold the same spot from last year with a staggering combined wealth of over £10bn. Only one person made the list for the richest person in Wales under 40, founder and CEO of Net World Sports, Alex Lovén. These are Wales' five wealthiest individuals or families according to The Sunday Times Rich List 2025. 1. Sir Michael Moritz and Harriet Heyman (Image: PA ) Source of wealth: Venture capitalist and philanthropist 2025 wealth: £4.435bn Yearly difference: Down £168m National rank: 40 Cardiff-born Sir Michael Moritz, 70, is a former journalist who joined US investment house Sequoia Capital in 1986 and set up his own charitable foundation, Crankstart. He became a billionaire by making early investments into the likes of Google, PayPal, WhatsApp, YouTube, and a host of other tech giants before any other big names. After stepping down from being in charge of Sequoia Capital in 2012 for health reasons, Moritz and his American author wife Harriet Heyman - whom he shares his billions with - set up Crankstart to support students from low-income families. 2. Simon Nixon (Image: Western Mail ) Source of wealth: Tech entrepreneur (MoneySuperMarket) 2025 wealth: £1.95bn Yearly difference: Up £70m National rank: 86 In second place this year is 57-year-old Simon Nixon, who was born in Lincolnshire but grew up in Flintshire. Many will have heard of his fortune making website, MoneySuperMarket, which he co-founded in 1993. He eventually went on to sell his shares by 2016 and now has investments in Monzo. He also makes money from his holiday home website Simon Escapes where he rents out his personal collection of luxury homes around the world from Cornwall to Malibu. 3. Douglas Perkins and family (Image: Chris Tostevin-Hall ) Source of wealth: Opticians (Specsavers) 2025 wealth: £1.539bn Yearly difference: Down £48m National rank: 107 Douglas Perkins, 82, from Llanelli, and his wife Dame Mary Perkins,81, started their billion-pound fortune from a ping-pong table in their spare bedroom where they created Specsavers. The company is now a global chain of opticians and made Perkins and his family billionaires. Read more about Douglas' life growing up in Carmarthenshire here. 4. Sir Terry Matthews (Image: John Myers ) Source of wealth: Telecoms tycoon 2025 wealth: £1.338bn Yearly difference: Down £2m National rank: 119 Sir Terry Matthews was raised in Newbridge, earning a degree in electronics from Swansea University. He began his journey as an entrepreneur in Canada where he started his telecoms equipment venture Mitel in 1973. He now also owns the Celtic Manor Resort in south Wales. Matthews is recorded as Wales' first billionaire and was the richest man in Wales until 2012 but remains on The Sunday Times Rich List in 119th place in the UK and 4th in Wales. 5. David Sullivan and family (Image: PA ) Source of wealth: Landlord 2025 wealth: £1.118bn Yearly difference: Down £50m National rank: 143 Born in Cardiff, David Sullivan, 76, earned his millions by selling pornographic content, by the age of 25. By the late 1970s he ran half of the UK's adult magazine market and 150 sex shops. In 1982 he was convicted of living off immoral earnings and served 71 days in prison but he told the Standard in 2012 that he did not "feel embarrassed" by how he made his money. Article continues below Sullivan is currently the co-owner of West Ham United F.C as well as operating an investment company, Conegate, which owns property in London. The three others who make up the top eight in Wales are house builder Steven in sixth place (158th in the UK) who is worth £988m. Henry Engelhardt and Diane Briere de l'Isle in seventh (161st in the UK) and worth £980m. Construction tycoons Dai and Richard Walters were ranked eighth in Wales (305th in the UK) and worth £418m.
