Tom Hunter

Tom Hunter

Sir Thomas Blane Hunter is a Scottish businessman, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. In April 2007, Hunter was reported in the Sunday Times Rich List as the first ever home-grown billionaire in Scotland. Hunter was overtaken as Scotland’s richest man in late 2007 by Jim McColl, head of Glasgow engineering firm Clyde Blowers. In 2020, Hunter is now worth £625 million, an increase of £18 million from the previous year.

About Tom Hunter in brief

Summary Tom HunterSir Thomas Blane Hunter is a Scottish businessman, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. In April 2007, Hunter was reported in the Sunday Times Rich List as the first ever home-grown billionaire in Scotland, with an estimated wealth of £1. 05 billion. Hunter was overtaken as Scotland’s richest man in late 2007 by Jim McColl, head of Glasgow engineering firm Clyde Blowers, who has an estimated fortune of £800 million. In 2020, Hunter is now worth £625 million, an increase of £18 million from the previous year. Tom set up his first business after graduating from the University of Strathclyde as he was, in his own words, “unemployable”.

With a £5,000 loan from his grocer father Campbell and matching funds from a bank, he started selling trainers from the back of a van. Hunter built the business into Europe’s largest independent retailer. In 1998 in an unsolicited offer, Dave Whelan’s JJB Sports offered to buy the larger Sports Division for £290 million; Hunter accepted. Hunter accepted, earning himself £252 million. Advised to move to Monaco after the sale of Sports Division, Hunter wanted to raise his family in his homeland. Hunter, with his wife, resultantly established The Hunter Foundation in 1998 with a £10 million cheque as a tax management vehicle.