Sir James Dyson, OM, CBE

Founder, Dyson

James Dyson is the founder of Dyson and designer of the ground-breaking dual cyclone bagless vacuum cleaner. His net worth now stands at around £3 billion, but success was not straightforward: in increasing amounts of debt, and supported by his wife's teaching salary, Dyson went through 5,127 failed prototypes before perfecting the design in 1983. He was then unable to sell the product to a UK distributor so he manufactured and distributed it himself. When asked about his career, Dyson says, ‘as soon as you become frustrated with something that doesn’t work as it should, investigate the problem and solve it.’ Dyson has since developed hand dryers, fans, heaters and even wheelbarrows. He founded the James Dyson Foundation in 2002 to encourage and inspire budding engineers, and its annual James Dyson Award is given to the best invention by a student. Dyson was awarded the prestigious Order of Merit in 2016.

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