Thomas Skinner is one of Britain’s most-loved contestants to ever appear on the UK TV entrepreneur series, The Apprentice.
But what is the full story behind his business success and what is his net worth?
Who is Thomas Skinner?
Thomas Skinner was born in Romford, Essex in February 1991.
While most famous for his appearance on The Apprentice, Skinner started his career at the age of 16.
After completing his GCSEs at Brentwood School, the young Brit started working in local markets.
“I never done college, never done university, just went straight into the deep end and started on the markets buying and selling anything,” he said in a recent interview.
READ MORE ON THE 24/7 PROJECT
“It was hard, because there were days were someone would say to you ‘Tom, I’ve got a range of this and they’re going to be an absolute winner’, and you’ve got your working money, your two grand, so you buy your bit of stock and you stand on three or four market stalls and you don’t sell a thing.”
Willing to sell whatever it took to make an income, he admitted: “There weren’t nothing I wouldn’t turn an eye to.”
He said the experience made him “hungry” for more, often socialising on weekends with financiers in London and eager to be able to keep up with their lifestyle.
In 2019 Skinner set up his own company manufacturing and selling beds, mattresses and pillows called The Fluffy Pillow Company
Just months later, his then-girlfriend suggested he apply to appear on The Apprentice in a bid to win a £250,000 investment into his business from Lord Sugar.
He became a fan favourite on the show, with his cheeky attitude winning over the public. However, he failed to win the show, getting “fired” in week nine.
Despite not coming out victorious on the show, the BBC programme helped raise Skinner’s profile and led to a new boom for The Fluffy Pillow Company.
“Literally, after the second or thirds show… order, order, order, order.
“It just snowballed to the fact that the manufacturer said: ‘We supply some big firms like TK Maxx. You’ve sold more pillows than they have’.”
Skinner employed his mates to help him with the firm and The Fluffy Pillow Company went from strength to strength over the months that followed.
The first major bump for Skinner came at the start of the Covid pandemic, with the manufacturer that supplied his pillows grinding to a halt.
Overcoming the problem, the entrepreneur switched tact, ditching his pillows and instead focusing purely on selling mattresses that were produced by a different supplier.
Rebranding his company as Bosh Mattresses, he promised to make “the top quality mattresses at prices people can afford”.
Just three years after set up, Bosh Mattresses is now one of the biggest providers in the UK.
What is Thomas Skinner’s net worth?
Thomas Skinner is thought to have a net worth of as much as $50 million.
His money all comes from the success of his Bosh Mattresses and The Fluffy Pillow Company firms, having set up the businesses without major financial help.