What Is Piers Linney's Net Worth?
Piers Linney is a British entrepreneur who has a net worth of $100 million. Based in London, Piers Linney began his professional career as a solicitor, then moved into investment banking and also served as the manager of a hedge fund. He made his fortune pioneering innovation in cloud computing, and he was the co-CEO of Outsourcery, a company devoted to cloud computing services. Piers became widely recognized in Britain after appearing on the reality show, "The Secret Millionaire" in 2011. He worked alongside youth offenders at the Young Offenders Institution during his time on the program and subsequently hired one of the inmates. From 2013 to 2015, Linney appeared on the popular business reality series "Dragon's Den." Piers was formerly the owner and co-CEO of Genesis Communications and the non-executive director of British Business Bank, and he served as a financial consultant on the 1999 film "An Ideal Husband." In 2018, the "Financial Times" included Linney on its "The UK's top 100 black and minority ethnic leaders in technology" and "The most influential BAME tech leaders in the UK" lists, and Green Park named him one of the "Top 100 BAME Leaders in Business."
Early Life
Piers Linney was born Jonathan Piers Daniel Linney on February 15, 1971, in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. He is the son of Norma and Derek Linney, and he has a younger brother. Linney's heritage is Bajan (Barbados) on his mother's side and English on his father's side. Piers was raised in Stoke-on-Trent until the age of 9 when the family moved to Bacup, a small town in Lancashire. Linney attended Fearns School, and according to a 2008 article in the "Rossendale Free Press," he was "the first pupil to do work experience at Barclays Bank in Rawtenstall – and he got offered a job."
Career
On his official website, Linney states, "After sitting several exams twice and night school to study for a A level in law, I went on to gain a degree in accounting and law at the University of Manchester and, after 68 applications for a training contract, qualified as a Solicitor with the City law firm SJ Berwin. I then joined the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) team at Barclays de Zoete Wedd (BZW), which was acquired by the bulge bracket bank, Credit Suisse (First Boston) just three months later." In 2000, Piers left banking to launch an internet business, and he said on his website, "The technology crash later that year meant that I experienced almost a complete economic cycle in twelve months. After forays into dance music and talent management, I spent the next seven years establishing an innovative regulated corporate finance, venture capital and alternative finance businesses as well as investing in and building several technology, media and telecoms (TMT) businesses that I have exited." In 2007, Piers and his business partner, Simon Newton, led the buyout of the data resale and mobile voice company Genesis Communications. Two years later, Genesis Communications acquired the Scotland-based telecommunications company Thus Mobile and renamed it Outsourcery, rebranding it to focus on cloud services. In 2012, the Daisy Group acquired Outsourcery's mobile business arm for £15 million. In 2013, Outsourcery raised £13 million on the Alternative Investment Market, and in 2016, it was sold and placed into administration.
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Linney has served on the boards of TechUK and the Cloud Industry Forum, and in 2014, he became a member of the Cabinet Office SME Panel. He founded the non-profit organization workinsight.org, a digital platform that helped connect young people with potential employers, and he has been a trustee of the career website Plotr and the charity Nesta as well as the Powerlist Foundation. From 2013 to 2015, Piers was a panel member on the BBC Two series "Dragons' Den," on which "aspiring entrepreneurs have one chance to make their dreams come true when they pitch their business idea to five multimillionaire investors." In early 2015, he announced that he was leaving the show, stating, "I've got a young family and time is a precious commodity. I've watched 200 pitches and made nine investments but I've got so many other things going on. I've done what I set out to do; the show is refreshed. It's time to move on." Linney invested in the publishing and technology company Wonderbly, which has sold more than eight million personalized books. In 2017, Wonderbly raised $8.5 million from the European publisher Ravensburger and existing investors such as Google Ventures and Greycroft. Piers co-founded Atherton Bikes in 2018 and Implement AI, a "next generation consultancy for small and medium-sized business to create exponential business transformation," in 2023. Linney founded the community and content platform Moblox in 2021.
Personal Life
Piers married Tara Bishop in 2002. They welcomed daughters Electra and Tiger before divorcing in 2018. In a 2020 interview with "This is Money," Linney said of the priciest thing he's bought for fun, "It was a 50ft boat. I wouldn't quite call it a 'yacht' – it's more like a large motorboat. I bought it with a friend for more than half a million pounds. I've since sold it." He added, "There are two great moments with boats: the day you buy it – and the day you sell it. I got my licence, I could skipper it, but I just didn't use it enough to justify the expense so I got rid of it."
Awards
The Power List 2013, which was sponsored by JP Morgan, named Linney one of the "100 most influential black Britons." The following year, the Black British Business Awards named him Entrepreneur Leader of the Year.
