FAMILY BUSINESS
Meet the ‘mini tycoons’ as Dragons’ Den returns – including stunning daughters who ‘won’t see penny’ of dad’s £290m
One Dragon's daughter is currently pregnant with her first child
THEY are some of Britain's biggest business titans worth millions - so it's no surprise their kids enjoy a taste of the high life.
From lavish trips abroad to dinners at fancy restaurants and high powered roles in the family business, the Dragons' Den 'mini tycoons' appear to have it made.
20
But some of the dragons have made it clear their kids won't see a penny of their fortunes - seemingly hoping they'll follow in their footsteps and become self-made millionaires.
Ahead of the new series tonight, we take a look at the enviably glam lives of the mini dragons.
Peter Jones
Peter Jones, 57, who started his first business aged 16 and now boasts an estimated £500m fortune, is a proud dad-of-five.
He shares Annabelle, who's in her early 30s, and William with ex-wife Caroline, who he divorced in 2009, and daughters Isabella, 18, Natalia, 21, and Tullula, 17, with current wife, interior designer Tara Capp.
READ MORE ON DRAGONS' DEN
It’s not known what most of Peter’s kids do for a living, but his brood are partial to sharing lustworthy holiday snaps on Instagram.
They include Natalia whose profile is packed with posts from luxurious locations including a beach in the Bahamas, a private villa in Corfu and high-end spots in Dubai.
The stylish youngster, whose posts have been liked by Christine Lampard, also has snaps from US trips to Malibu, Los Angeles and New York.
Isabella has also shared pics from holiday hotspots including The Palm, in Dubai, while Tallula keeps a low profile online but is regularly tagged in family holiday photos.
Most read in Reality
20
20
William appears to be golf-mad and is regularly seen playing with his dad and celebrities including John Terry and Alan Shearer.
When he’s not teeing off, he shares holiday photos including one of him posing beside a private pool, on board private jets and skiing in the Alps.
In 2022 Annabelle, who works in a nursing home, told how crippling endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome almost destroyed her dreams of being a mother.
Aged just 29 she was advised her best treatment option was a full hysterectomy, which "broke her heart", and she made plans to freeze her eggs.
Single Annabelle, who published the book You Are You in 2021, is currently pregnant and expecting her first child this month.
Their dad, who has been on Dragons' Den since 2005, has tried to instil his strong work ethic in his kids.
In 2015 he said their pocket money was “based on incentive” and had been “a bone of contention” for some years in their household.
"It’s like, ‘You’ve got to clean your room, to get this’, and if they don’t do it, they don’t get the money,” he told the Radio Times.
20
20
20
20
20
He expressed a desire for them to stand on their own two feet, but supplements their income with a “match-funding” plan, based on how much they work.
Peter explained: "So if they earn £20,000 a year, I’ll give them a tiny contribution on top. If they decide not to work, they don’t get anything. I want them to do it for themselves."
He added his kids won't get "large chunks of cash", but "every year for the rest of their lives the trust will double their income".
Theo Paphitis
20
20
Greek-Cypriot tycoon Theo Paphitis also has five children with wife Debbie - sons Dominic, 44, and Alex, 36, and three daughters - twins Holly and Annabelle, 27, and Zoe, 42. He also has eight grandchildren.
Son Alex has been working his way up the chain at Theo’s businesses – starting as a trainee at Ryman back in 2009 before earning the position of Chief Operating Officer at lingerie firm Boux Avenue.
Daughter Zoe, 42, bills herself as an "actress and mummy to three gorgeous little boys - Harry and Oliver and Samuel" on social media.
She's appeared in TV shows Dream Team, Harry and Cosh and Goal, according to IMDB.
Holly currently works for a healthcare workforce company. It’s unclear what her twin sister Annabelle does, although she has previously worked at a nursery.
Dominic appears to work as a retail manager at Ryman, and lives in London.
Theo has said he plans to donate some of his vast £290m fortune to charity but will also leave a tidy sum to his kids.
In 2013 he told the Daily Mail: “There is no reason why I shouldn’t support my children. Do you not get them used to a lifestyle?
"What happens when they become 18 and they are used to a certain lifestyle and then you say, 'I’m going to take it away?'
"How do you know they are capable of coping with that? How do you know that’s not going to drive them somewhere to a place you don’t want them to go anywhere near because of it? You can’t do that."
Touker Suleyman
20
20
20
20
Retail businessman Touker Suleyman, who owns a string of fashion brands and is believed to be worth £200million, is dad to two daughters, Tashia, 25, and Taya, 21. Little is known about their mother.
His eldest has definitely inherited his sartorial eye - she is a fashion stylist whose work has appeared in Vogue.
She's also worked on campaigns for clothing brand Ghost - which Touker bought in 2008 - and created looks for singer Paloma Faith.
Taya appears to keep a low profile online, but according to LinkedIn she's currently studying English Literature and History of Art at Edinburgh University.
She's also interned at Ghost and attended the prestigious Cheltenham College.
Duncan Bannatyne
20
20
Duncan Bannatyne, who quit the show in 2015, is estimated to be worth £430m, having made a fortune from his famous health club and spa chain.
He has six children and a step-daughter. They include Hollie, 38, Abigail, Jennifer and Eve with ex-wife Gail Brodie, whom he divorced in 1994.
There’s also Emily and Thomas from ex-wife Joanna McCue, who he was married to until 2013, and stepdaughter Gabrielle with current wife Nigora Whitehorn.
Abigail is married to ex rugby union pro Anthony Elliott - they tied the knot at a swish French chateau in 2010 with attendees including TV stars Noel Edmunds and Vernon Kay.
She used to sell Herbalife nutritional supplements, and insisted her father has never spoilt them, telling the : “Yes we have had nice holidays and we have lived in nice houses but we never ever expect anything from him.”
Abigail hit the headlines in 2018 when she mistook a deadly sepsis infection for a hangover from a friend's wedding in France.
Thomas has worked for Bannatyne’s as a membership advisor, and Eve is a special education teacher.
Hollie is listed as a director for both of her dad's companies Bannatyne Media and Bannatyne Properties on Companies House. It's not known what Jennifer or Emily do for work.
20
20
Duncan stated in 2009 he won't be leaving his kids a penny when he dies, suggesting it would "not be good for them" and his money will go to charity instead.
But in 2013 he appeared to have had a change of heart when he suggested he was “worrying about what would be left” for his children after his costly divorce from Joanna.
He told the Daily Mail: “I thought I could make the company more valuable again and leave them a better inheritance.”
At one point the entrepreneur paid his children a £400-per-month allowance, but it came with strict rules including no smoking or drink driving.
In 2009 he told the that he stopped making direct debit payments to one of his daughters after smelling smoke in her room and discovering an ashtray.
He said: "It only lasted a couple of months before she persuaded me she wasn’t smoking, and I started making the payments again… It’s not a big trust fund anyway – I don’t think it’s good for them.”
Sara Davies
20
20
TV Crafting Queen Sara Davies may be worth £37m but she’s determined to keep her two young sons – Oliver, 10, and Charlie, seven – grounded due to her own humble upbringing.
Photos on her Instagram show them enjoying a more simple life, including working on an allotment with their grandparents.
She recalled her family being unable “to afford holidays” when she was younger and is determined to raise them “with the same value system” she had.
Sara told : “I'm in the privileged position where I could fly my kids anywhere in the world and stay in five-star resorts, but if I always did that, they wouldn't grow up with an appreciation of money.
“So, last weekend, we went camping. The kids were out all day on their bikes with their wellies on and I was so happy.”
Insisting her children will not be “growing up with a silver spoon in their mouths”, Sara told The Sun that she hopes her brood will stand on their own two feet instead of relying on her fortune.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
She said: "If my kids had a different attitude where they were banking on that inheritance, then I would be inclined to not want to give it."
It followed Sara telling her own parents and in-laws that she did not want any money left to her in their wills. Instead, she encouraged them to spend it all on “extravagant holidays”.
Topics