HOW HE GOT HERE

Stuck in the mud

During the ’70s, lots of people get their wheelbarrows stuck in mud. But only one, James Dyson in ’74, comes up with a solution: the Ballbarrow, which replaces the skinny wheel with a go-anywhere sphere.

Bags for life? No Frustrated with the way vacuum cleaners become less powerful as their bags fill, Dyson spends the ’80s developing a bag-less version and fruitlessly pitching it to manufacturers – they aren’t keen to give up the revenue generated by selling replacement bags. He sets up Dyson Ltd in ’93 and launches the DC01 vacuum cleaner.

Down the drain

Dyson’s contra-rotating washing machine, launched in 2000, isn’t a roaring success – it’s discontinued in 2005. A year later Dyson lands a hit with the immensely loud but e cient, hygienic and e ective Airblade hand dryer.

Patently ambitious Summer 2019; patents for Dyson’s ambitious batteryelectric Tesla rival are made public. The project is led by ex-Aston Martin man Ian Minards, who left Gaydon for the role of global product development director at Dyson in September 2016.

Numero uno

In 2020 Dyson moves up from fifth in The Sunday Times Rich List to the top spot, with a fortune of £16.2bn.