Chefs league table: Jamie Oliver's 40% leap in wealth makes him the world's richest cook

By This Is Money Reporters - 1 May 2012

Jamie Oliver's education may have ended when he left school at sixteen without few qualifications but it seems the lack of a degree - and just two GCSEs - has failed to dent the earning potential of the UK's most famous chef.
He has been named the world's richest chef after stirring up a £150million fortune.
From recipe books to restaurants, in the last year alone his wealth has rocketed by £44million.

The dad-of-four, 36, is now Britain’s 501st richest person in the 2012 Sunday Times Rich List, leaving pal Gordon Ramsay, 45, and football loving chef Delia Smith, 70, in the shade.

Red carpet: Jules Oliver has found fame and become a top earner in her own right

Ramsay was ranked with a £40million fortune in 2009 but then dropped out of the rich list while Smith also failed to register this year.

But the star, made famous a decade ago as the naked chef, is planning on building an even bigger empire in the U.S., where he is already a household name.
His massive following means he has topped the weekly bestseller chart 30 times with his 15 cookbooks, including the 30-Minute Meals which sold more than a million copies.
It seems the chef can't do any wrong as his latest book Jamie’s Great Britain, which was linked with his Channel 4 show, also went straight to number one.
He can now boast beating Harry Potter’s JK Rowling to the spot of Britain's best selling author.
And it isn't just Britain and the US, Jamie's TV shows, made by his own production company, are shown in more than 40 countries.
His Jamie's Italian restaurant chain is also growing rapidly. Profits were up at £4.6million on doubled sales of £47.6million in 2010-11. It has 30 sites and plans to expand in North America.
The business is valued at £110million, of which Oliver and his wife, Jools, have a £77million stake, according to the Sunday Times Rich List analysis.

Now it's a thumbs up! Jamie Oliver in 2005 at the launch of Jamie's school dinners which made him a household, and a classroom, name

His main operation, Jamie Oliver Holdings posted profits of £8million on earnings of £25.8million.
His wife, 37, also makes a sizable contribution to their combined wealth. The former model signed a deal with Mothercare this year to produce a debut range of childrenswear and accessories.
The family have homes in London and rural Essex.

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