Rich List 2012: No.31 - James Holder (£180m)

Studley-born James Holder began his career in fashion 21 years ago when he sold T-shirts from the back of his mother’s car at BMX events.

Now, a bankruptcy, a marriage and a couple of companies later, he runs the uber-cool £1 billion streetwear fashion label Superdry which he founded in 2003.

Brought up in Stratford-upon-Avon, 39 year-old Mr Holder went to college in Leamington Spa. While he was there he began designing T-shirts, and founded the BMX and skateboarder label Bench.

He teamed up with Julian Dunkerton, co-founder of Cult Clothing who is still his business partner, and they set about marketing their designs. They ordered 2,000 of each garment from their Walsall manufacturers and took them to potential outlets. Barrie Suddons, owner of Bristol-based Westworld Stores liked what he saw and the brand was assured.

Eventually he signed away his shares in Bench and was declared bankrupt in 1998. But he carried on designing and he founded Superdry eight years ago.

Superdry was the result of a brainstorming session in a Tokyo bar after Holder and Dunkerton collected tons of packaging for food and from shops.

“We looked at it and everything it was ‘super’ this and ‘super’ that. That inspired us,” Holder explained.

The firm’s design became huge hits when David Beckham was seen wearing them on his 2005 calendar.

Other celebrities followed suit including Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio, and now Superdry is the favoured streetwear label of the stars. Singer Pixie Lott is a devoted fan.

In March 2010 Superdry’s parent company SuperGroup floated for £395 million, netting Mr Holder £18.8 million.

The share price tripled almost immediately and Mr Holder’s 15 per cent share is now worth close to £200 million.

The label’s big sellers, besides its graphic T-shirts, include windcheaters, gilets and lumberjack shirts.

Mr Holder is rarely pictured wearing anything else other than his own brand.

He now lives in the Cotswolds with his wife Jessica, son Noah, two horses and an Aston Martin DBS.