Jimmy Choo Yeang Keat was born on 15 November 1948, in George Town, Penang, Malaysia, of Chinese descent, and is a fashion designer, best known for founding Jimmy Choo Ltd which is known for its handmade women’s shoes. He’s also won numerous awards throughout his career, and all of his efforts have held put his net worth to where it is today.
How rich is Jimmy Choo? As of mid-2016, sources estimate a net worth that is at $50 million, mostly earned through a successful career in the fashion industry. He’s been featured in numerous publications and has collaborated with many artists. He’s also expanded to feature handbags and other fashion accessories. All of these activities have ensured the position of his wealth.
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Jimmy Choo Net Worth $50 million
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Jimmy was born into a family of shoemakers; his original family name is Chow but was accidentally changed in a birth certificate error. He attended Shih Chung Primary School, but meantime learned how to make shoes from his father, making his first pair at just 11 years old. He attended Cordwainers Technical College and started working at restaurants to help fund his college education. After graduating, he opened his own shop by renting an old hospital building. Soon, his creations that were originally sold under the name Lucky Shoes were starting to get noticed, so he then transitioned and put his own name out as a brand. His shoes were then featured in Vogue magazine, which boosted his popularity significantly. Some of his designs featured various leathers, including python, and even fish skin. The designs took different color dyes well, and were interestingly not only different but also cheaper than most handmade shoes.
Soon he was finding celebrity patrons, including Diana, Princess of Wales who boosted Jimmy’s business further. His designs developed a large following in the 1990s; in 1996, he co-founded Jimmy Choo Ltd with Tamara Mellon who’s best known for being an editor at British Vogue. After focusing on the business for five years, he decided to sell his stake in the company to focus on designing the Jimmy Choo Couture line – for the previous five years he had been involved in the retail side of the business but wanted to go back to designing custom made shoes. He also helped create the Jimmy Choo Ready-To-Wear line, and then expanded it to include handbags. One of his latest projects is a shoemaking institute in Malaysia, but he continues to make high end shoes.
Jimmy has won numerous awards for his work and was even given the title of Dato by the Sultan of Pahang state in Malaysia. He was also honoured with the Order of the Britsh Empire (OBE) thanks to his services in the fashion industry in the UK. Aside from these, he was given an honorary doctorate by De Montfort University, and an honorary fellowship by the University of the Arts London. In 2011, he won “The World’s Outstanding Malaysian Designer” award, and the following year won the Most Influential Malaysian Award.
For his personal life, it is known that Jimmy married Rebecca Choi and they have two children. He also has a niece Lucy, who became a shoe designer.
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