Charlotte Tilbury is the UK’s richest beauty entrepreneur

The Sunday Times list also includes John Frieda and Trinny Woodall

Charlotte Tilbury has topped a list of the top 30 richest beauty entrepreneurs in the UK.

The entries on the Sunday Times’ inaugural Beauty Rich List have built their wealth from a range of products and services including skincare, haircare, make-up, bath bombs and tanning shops.

Tilbury, who has worked with supermodels including Bella Hadid, Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell, dominates the list with an estimated fortune of £350 million.

The 52-year-old founded her own brand in 2013 after working as a celebrity make-up artist for over 20 years.

The list includes 19 women and 14 men and the entrepreneurs boast a combined estimated wealth of £2.174 billion.

Other magnates on the list include John Frieda, known for his Frizz-Ease hair range, and Trinny Woodall, from BBC TV series What Not to Wear, who launched her own make-up and skin care brand Trinny London in 2017.

Robert Watts, compiler of the list, said: “There are so many inspiring people with rags to riches stories here.

“Our Beauty List includes someone who came to the UK as a child refugee, another who was homeless and camping in woodland during his teens.

“There are others who left school with few or no qualifications to their name, one who was expelled. We have entries who suffered hair loss and very serious skin conditions that led them to create their own treatments which they later started to sell.

“All these people went on to build successful beauty brands making products people love, creating jobs, contributing decent sums to the public finances and of course making many of us look and feel a lot better along the way.”

Phoebe McDowell, beauty and interiors director of the Sunday Times, added: “Beauty is big business, and this inaugural list demonstrates the power of creativity and innovation in the sector.

“These entrepreneurs have not only built brands but changed the way we think about hair, make-up, and skincare.”

The list excludes individuals and families where a company accounts for less than 25% of their estimated wealth.

Published: 16/03/2025 by Radio NewsHub