Michelle Mone Net Worth

What is Michelle Mone's Net Worth?

Michelle Mone is a Scottish entrepreneur, media personality, and Conservative peer who has a net worth of $50 million, although much of her wealth is now under investigation and subject to asset freezes following the PPE Medpro scandal. More info on this scandal later in this article.

Michelle Mone's self-made entrepreneurial story began in Glasgow, where she left school at 15 and entered sales and marketing before spotting a gap in the lingerie market. In the mid-1990s, she and her then-husband, Michael, re-mortgaged their home to fund development of a gel-filled bra designed to provide more comfort and lift than traditional designs. In 1996, she launched MJM International, which produced the "Ultimo" brand. Ultimo was quickly picked up by major UK retailers like Selfridges, propelled by bold advertising campaigns and celebrity models. Mone herself often became the face of the brand, posing in her own products and cultivating a glamorous image as the "bra queen" of Britain.

Ultimo achieved widespread recognition and, at its peak, was one of the UK's most visible lingerie labels. Mone expanded her business interests into jewelry, interiors, and beauty products, while also becoming a familiar face on British television as a business personality and motivational speaker.

Unfortunately, Michelle's public standing shifted dramatically during and after the pandemic. A company linked to Mone and her husband, Doug Barrowman, was awarded over £200 million in government contracts through the controversial "VIP lane." On October 1, 2025, the High Court ruled that their company, PPE Medpro, had breached its gown contract and must repay £122 million ($150 million) to the Department of Health and Social Care. The judgment concluded the 25 million sterile surgical gowns supplied in 2020 were not validly certified as sterile, and evidence later revealed the vast majority of sample gowns failed sterility testing. While Mone and her husband have condemned the decision and continue to deny wrongdoing, the ruling, together with a separate criminal investigation, has come to dominate assessments of her career and legacy.

Early Life

Michelle Georgina Mone was born in Glasgow's East End and raised in Dennistoun in a working-class family. She left school at 15 without qualifications, taking early jobs in sales, modeling, and promotions. She worked as a "ring girl" at boxing matches before moving into marketing roles. Her ambition was clear: she later said she wanted "to make something of myself" and prove that someone from her background could break into business.

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Ultimo and Business Career

Mone's defining venture began in the mid-1990s. After attending a brassiere exhibition, she became convinced that traditional lingerie could be improved with silicone gel inserts that provided greater comfort and lift. In 1996, she and her husband, Michael, re-mortgaged their home, taking on around £70,000 in debt to launch MJM International and develop what became the Ultimo bra.

Her breakthrough came in 1999, when she traveled unannounced to London and persuaded Selfridges lingerie buyer Virginia Marcolin to stock the product. Selfridges unveiled the bra in a headline-grabbing stunt with models wearing Ultimo in the store's windows. The products sold out almost immediately, and the brand gained national attention.

Cash flow remained tight, but she secured vital backing from Scottish entrepreneur Tom Hunter, who had recently sold JJB Sports for hundreds of millions. Around this time, PR executive Jack Irvine helped craft Mone's media image. Newspapers eagerly embraced her rags-to-riches tale, and she leaned heavily into bold publicity stunts. One story claimed Julia Roberts wore an Ultimo bra in "Erin Brockovich," a myth later denied by the filmmakers but widely repeated.

Ultimo expanded rapidly into swimwear, shapewear, and international licensing. Celebrity campaigns with models and actresses helped keep the brand in the headlines, and Mone herself often posed in her own products, enhancing her image as both the designer and the glamorous figurehead.

Despite its fame, Ultimo struggled financially. MJM International never generated more than £10 million in annual turnover and sometimes posted losses. Behind the scenes, the company faced legal disputes, including a case in which an employee discovered a recording device in his office. Still, Mone kept the brand in the public eye and marketed herself as one of Britain's top female entrepreneurs.

In 2011, she divorced her husband and bought him out of the business. She continued to front Ultimo as both CEO and model until 2014, when she sold her majority stake. By then, the brand was in decline, but Mone remained a public figure, branching into jewelry, interiors, beauty, and motivational speaking.

House of Lords Appointment

Originally a Labour supporter, Mone defected to the Conservatives in 2010 and campaigned vigorously against Scottish independence in 2014. Prime Minister David Cameron soon appointed her as his "entrepreneurship tsar" and, in 2015, elevated her to the Lords as Baroness Mone of Mayfair.

Her choice of "Mayfair" over a Scottish territorial designation was criticized as image-driven branding. Business leaders publicly questioned her record, pointing out that MJM's revenues never exceeded £10.1 million and that the company was often in financial difficulty. Scottish businessman Donald Anderson called her appointment "a mistake," saying she represented "1% glamour" rather than the grind of real enterprise.

Still, the title gave Mone political influence and further cemented her celebrity status. But within years, her peerage would become a focal point of scandal rather than recognition.

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The PPE Medpro Scandal

On May 12, 2020, just seven weeks into COVID lockdown, PPE Medpro was incorporated. That same day, Michelle Mone referred the newly formed company into the government's High Priority "VIP lane." Within 24 hours, the firm offered to supply 210 million facemasks to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), and by June it had secured two contracts worth a combined £203 million — one for £80.85 million to supply masks, and another for £122 million to provide 25 million sterile surgical gowns.

The gowns were manufactured in China and shipped to the UK in late 2020. They were never used. After inspection, government officials concluded the products failed to meet sterility standards. Testing showed that 103 of 140 gowns failed sterility tests, far exceeding acceptable failure rates, and the gowns were later destroyed. Court filings revealed that civil servants had raised internal concerns about a conflict of interest given Mone's marriage to businessman Doug Barrowman, but the contracts proceeded regardless. When negotiations faltered, PPE Medpro director Anthony Page enlisted Mone as the "big gun." She personally contacted senior Cabinet Office officials, threatened escalation, and insisted a contract had already been finalized.

For years, Mone denied any involvement in the company or its contracts. In December 2023, however, she admitted she had acted as a conduit between PPE Medpro and government ministers. She also confirmed that her family stood to benefit from a trust into which Barrowman had transferred £29 million from PPE Medpro's profits. Barrowman has said he was the ultimate beneficial owner of the firm and that he personally received at least £65 million from the contracts.

On October 1, 2025, Mrs Justice Cockerill ruled that PPE Medpro had breached its contract, finding that the gowns were "not, contractually speaking, sterile" and had been improperly CE-marked. The judge ordered the company to repay £121,999,219 by October 15, dismissing the government's additional £8 million storage claim but emphasizing that PPE Medpro had failed to supply legally compliant goods. The ruling revealed that the company had exaggerated its credentials, claiming experience "manufacturing large quantities for the Australian government" that could not be substantiated.

The following weeks brought fresh fallout. PPE Medpro entered administration on September 30, the day before the ruling, with just £666,025 in net assets and about £4.3 million spent on legal fees. When the October 15 repayment deadline passed, the government confirmed that no payment had been made. With interest of £23.7 million already accrued, the total owed to taxpayers has now reached £146 million and is increasing daily at an 8% annual rate.

The Crown Prosecution Service has frozen £75 million in assets linked to Mone and Barrowman. Anti-corruption groups and MPs have called on the government to pursue compensation orders against PPE Medpro's directors and potentially against Mone and Barrowman personally, under provisions allowing claims against "shadow directors." Two of the company's directors, Anthony Page and Voirrey Coole, were linked to Barrowman's Isle of Man trust network, tightening the connection between the couple and the firm.

Meanwhile, the consortium behind PPE Medpro said it had offered to remake the gowns or pay £23 million toward a possible settlement — a proposal that the DHSC did not acknowledge. Health Secretary Wes Streeting vowed to "pursue PPE Medpro with everything we've got," while Chancellor Rachel Reeves pledged to work with administrators "to get that money back."

Mone and Barrowman maintain they are scapegoats for what they describe as the government's £10 billion PPE overspend. Mone has called the High Court ruling "politically motivated" and accused the Labour government of conducting a vendetta, saying, "Lying to the press is not a crime — I was protecting my family."

Personal Life

Michelle married Michael Mone in 1988 and had three children before their divorce in 2011. She later entered a relationship with businessman Doug Barrowman, whom she married in 2020. The couple relocated to the Isle of Man and became involved in ventures including cryptocurrency investments. Their partnership has since been inseparable from the PPE Medpro controversy, with Barrowman acknowledging he was the ultimate owner and financial beneficiary of the firm.

Legacy and Reputation

For two decades, Michelle Mone built a public image as one of the UK's most visible entrepreneurs — a working-class Glaswegian who fought her way into the fashion industry and created a lingerie brand that became synonymous with glamour. She was admired as a motivational figure and celebrated for her ability to command media attention.

That image has now been eclipsed. The PPE Medpro scandal, the High Court ruling to repay £122 million, and the ongoing NCA investigation have made her a symbol of pandemic-era cronyism. She has lost the Conservative whip, taken leave from the House of Lords, and become the focus of fierce public criticism.

The story of Michelle Mone has become a modern parable: a carefully crafted rags-to-riches narrative that captured headlines, but one undone by controversy, hubris, and political scandal.

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