32 Facts About Philip Green

Sir Philip Nigel Ross Green was born on 15 March 1952 and is a British businessman who was the chairman of the retail company the Arcadia Group.

Philip Green owned the high street clothing retailers Topshop, Topman and Miss Selfridge from 2002 to 2020.

Philip Green was made a Knight Bachelor in the 2006 Birthday Honours.

Philip Green has been called the "King of the High Street" but has been involved in a number of controversies during his career, including his actions prior to the demise of BHS in 2016.

Philip Green was born on 15 March 1952 in Croydon, England, into a middle-class Jewish family.

Philip Green was the son of Simon Green, a successful property developer and electrical goods retailer, and Alma.

Philip Green has a sister, Elizabeth, five years his senior.

Philip Green's family moved to Hampstead Garden Suburb, a middle-class area of North London, and at the age of nine he was sent to the now-closed Jewish boarding school Carmel College in Oxfordshire.

When Philip Green was twelve, his father died of a heart attack, and he inherited the family business.

In 1979, Philip Green bought up, at low prices, the entire stock of ten designer-label clothes retailers that had gone into receivership.

Philip Green then had the newly bought clothes dry cleaned, put on hangers, and wrapped in polythene to make them look new, and bought a shop from which to sell them to the public.

Philip Green was briefly owned by Green but sold to Tina Green within 24 hours, with Philip acting as CEO.

Philip Green is a supporter of the Fashion Retail Academy and the industry charity Retail Trust.

Philip Green was made a Knight Bachelor in the 2006 Queen's Birthday Honours "For services to the Retail Industry".

Philip Green gave the McCanns the use of his private jet to allow them to fly to Rome for a Papal visit.

In 2010, Philip Green donated $465,000 for new beds at the Royal Marsden Cancer Hospital, after his wife Tina's mother died there.

Philip Green spent more than $150,000 for an Alexander McQueen dress at Naomi Campbell's Fashion for Relief charity event.

Green's summary report, Efficiency Review by Sir Philip Green, published in October 2010, alleged significant failings in government procurement processes.

Philip Green argued that the report gave "a fair reflection" of government waste and inefficiency in practice, for which "very poor data and process" were seen as the main causes.

Philip Green is based at a London hotel during the week, spending the weekends with his wife and their children in an apartment in Monaco.

Philip Green is inspired by Sir Charles Clore, who built the Sears plc UK retail empire from scratch in the 1950s and 1960s.

Philip Green was involved in the transfers of Rio Ferdinand from Leeds United and Louis Saha from Fulham to Manchester United.

Philip Green is involved with Everton Football Club due to his friendship with chairman Bill Kenwright, but states that has no intention of formally investing in the club.

Philip Green arranged for another friend, Planet Hollywood's owner Robert Earl, to purchase shares from former director Paul Gregg during a struggle for control of Everton in 2004.

Philip Green offers business advice to the club alongside Tesco CEO Terry Leahy and helps negotiate player transfer fees with agents.

Philip Green became the target of activist group UK Uncut in November 2010 for alleged corporate tax avoidance.

In December 2014, Michelle Young accused Philip Green, Richard Caring and Simon Cowell of helping her ex-husband, businessman Scot Young, to hide assets and so avoid paying maintenance to his ex-wife and their two daughters.

Philip Green denied allegations in The Sunday Times made during 2007 that his firm used overseas sweatshops where workers in Mauritius were paid pitiful wages.

In 2010, Philip Green was again accused of using sweatshops, this time by Channel 4's Dispatches programme.

Philip Green then added that he had moral responsibilities to the pension fund and a proper investigation was needed but not one that took years.

In 2016, the House of Commons approved a motion asking the Honours Forfeiture Committee to recommend Philip Green's knighthood be "cancelled and annulled".

In May 2019, Philip Green was charged with four counts of misdemeanor assault in the US after an Arizona Pilates teacher accused him of frequently touching her inappropriately.