What is Tom Ford's Net Worth?
Tom Ford is an American fashion designer and film director who has a net worth of $2 billion. Tom Ford earned the majority of his net worth in November 2022 when he sold his eponymous fashion brand to Estée Lauder for $2.8 billion. More info on this sale in the next section below. Outside of his own brand, Tom Ford has worked as creative director of Gucci and YSL.
After dropping out of New York University to focus on an acting career, he booked a ridiculous number of television commercials. At one point, he had twelve spots running concurrently. He then earned a degree in Architecture from Parsons but discovered his love of fashion his senior year and decided to focus on building a career in that arena after graduation. He went on to work for Cathy Hardwick and then Perry Ellis, eventually signing on to work for Gucci as the head of their women's ready-to-wear line in 1990. At that time, Gucci was in dismal shape.
Over the next fifteen years, as he rose through the ranks to become the company's Creative Director, he increased the company's value from near bankruptcy to $10 billion. Along the way, he won just about every fashion award possible. He and the Gucci Group parted company in 2004 after a protracted battle for artistic control of the organization. Tom then shifted his focus to film, writing, producing, and directing the feature film, "A Single Man," which starred Colin Firth and Julianne Moore. The movie won multiple major film awards and was nominated for an Oscar, three Golden Globes, three Independent Spirit Awards, and a BAFTA. His success at just about everything he does has resulted in his ability to buy multiple properties, and he has homes in Paris, Los Angeles, London, and New York. His most interesting property is a massive ranch in Santa Fe, New Mexico. We discuss this property in detail later in this article.
Estee Lauder Sale
In November 2022, after months of speculation and a secret bidding war, Tom Ford inked a deal to sell his brand to Estee Lauder for $2.8 billion. At the close of the deal, after taxes, Tom Ford's net worth increased from $500 million to $2 billion. It is the largest acquisition in Estee Lauder's history, with the company paying a mix of cash, deferred payments, and debt assumptions. Prior to the transaction, the Tom Ford brand generated $1 billion per year in revenue selling eyewear, clothes, makeup, fragrance, accessories, and more.
Early Life
Thomas Carlyle Ford, better known as Tom Ford, was born in Austin, Texas, on August 27, 1961. His parents, Shirley Burton (née Shirley Ann Thrasher) and Thomas David Ford, both worked as realtors. He spent his early years in Texas, growing up in San Marcos, outside of Austin, as well as in the suburbs of Houston. Then, when he was eleven years old, his family moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico. He graduated from Santa Fe Preparatory School in 1979. He then moved to New York City with the intention of studying art history at New York University but dropped out after only a year to focus on pursuing an acting career, especially in television commercials. Later, he began studying interior architecture at Parsons, the New School for Design. He switched to studying fashion during his final year at Parsons after working as an intern in Chloé's press office in Paris, but ultimately still graduated with an architecture degree. It was while living in New York City that he met Ian Falconer, who introduced him to Studio 54. Ford would continue to visit Studio 54, and it was there at the club that he realized that he was gay.
Fashion Career
Despite not having graduated from a fashion program and having minimal experience working in the fashion world, Ford was persistent when interviewing for fashion-related jobs after college. His persistence paid off, and he eventually landed a job with American designer Cathy Hardwick and worked as a design assistant for her for two years. He then moved to the brand Perry Ellis in 1988 and worked there for two years. However, wanting a change of style, he decided to move to Europe to work there. He landed the job of chief women's ready-to-wear designer for Gucci and moved to Milan to try to revive the struggling fashion house.
At Gucci, Ford's career and reach expanded rapidly. Within six months of working there, he was signing menswear, and not long after that, he began designing shoes. Eventually, after Richard Lambertson left the brand, Ford took over his position as design director in 1992. In this new role, he was in charge of overseeing everything from the brand's ready-to-wear and fragrances to its image, advertising, and store design. In 1993 alone, Ford was in charge of designing eleven product lines! In 1994, he was promoted to the position of Gucci's Creative Director. Under his direction, the brand continued to grow, and between 1995 and 1996, sales actually increased by 90%. Then, when Gucci acquired the fashion house Yves Saint Laurent (YSL) in 1999, Ford was named as that label's Creative Director as well.
Eventually, Ford left the Gucci Group in 2004. Two years later, he launched his own eponymous line featuring menswear, beauty, eyewear, and accessories. He has since expanded his brand and has dressed everyone from former American First Lady Michelle Obama, Beyoncé, Jennifer Lopez, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Anne Hathaway to Daniel Craig, Tom Hanks, Johnny Depp, Ryan Gosling, Will Smith, Hugh Jackman, and Justin Timberlake, to name just a few names.
(Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)
Real Estate Portfolio
Tom owns an impressive collection of real estate. He owns roughly $250 million worth of real estate in the US alone. Below is a summary of his notable real estate transactions.
New York City: In early 2019, Tom paid $18 million for a four-story, 7,500-square-foot New York City townhouse that was previously owned by the late designer Halston. Ford would later recall visiting the townhouse when he was a teenager when he went to pick up a friend there.
The Hamptons: In August 2023, Tom paid $52 million for a home in the Hamptons that has an interesting history. When the future Jackie Kennedy was a child, her family spent summers at the 7-acre estate. The home was owned by Jackie's grandfather, John Vernou Bouvier Jr. The main house on the property spans 8,500 square feet. The Bouviers named the estate "Lasata," which means "place of peace" in Algonquin.
Los Angeles: In 2016, Tom paid $38.75 million for a Holmby Hills mansion down the street from the Playboy Mansion. The house was originally built in the 1920s for Alfred Bloomingdale, the heir to the Bloomingdale department store fortune.
Palm Beach, Florida: In January 2023, Tom paid $51 million for a mansion in Palm Beach, Florida. Real estate records seem to indicate that just a few months later he actually traded this mansion for another Palm Beach mansion whose estimated value was at one point as much as $100 million.
Aspen: In late 2023, Tom paid $42.25 million for a newly constructed 9,500-square-foot mansion in Aspen, Colorado.
London: In late 2024, Tom paid $104 million for a sprawling mansion in London's Hyde Park neighborhood. It was the most expensive home sold in the UK for the year.
Santa Fe: Tom previously owned a 20,000+ acre ranch in Santa Fe, New Mexico, which was quietly put on the market for $75 million back in 2016. He lowered the price to $48 million in 2019. In January 2021, it was revealed that Tom had found a buyer for an undisclosed price. The ranch features a wild west town that has served as a location for several films including 3:10 to Yuma and Thor.
Directing Career
In addition to his long career in fashion as a designer, Ford has also pursued several projects as a film director. He launched his own film production company, Fade to Black, in March 2005. His directorial debut came in 2009 with the film "A Single Man." The film is based on the novel of the same name by Christopher Isherwood and stars Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Nicholas Hoult, and Matthew Goode. In addition to serving as the film's director, Ford also worked as one of the film's producers. The film received critical praise after it premiered at the 66th Venice International Film Festival and was nominated for the festival's top award, the Golden Lion.
Ford's second film as director was "Nocturnal Animals," released in 2016. This film was also an adaptation of a novel, this time Austin Wright's novel "Tony and Susan." It stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Armie Hammer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Isla Fisher. The film was also praised by critics and won the Grand Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival.
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Personal Life
Ford married Richard Buckley, his longtime partner, in April 2014. The couple began dating soon after they first met in 1986. According to Tom, they met in an elevator, and by the time the doors opened, Tom had fallen in love and decided he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Richard. Richard was a journalist who at one time was the editor-in-chief of Vogue Hommes International. They welcomed a son together, Alexander John "Jack" Buckley Ford, in 2012 via gestational surrogate. Unfortunately, Richard died in September 2021 at the age of 71.
