Simon Jordan’s career arc is one of extreme highs and lows: from self-made millionaire to Crystal Palace chairman, then from bankruptcy to talkSPORT pundit. At his peak in 2000, he walked away from his mobile phone retail chain with £75 million — only to lose much of that fortune within a decade.
Born: 24 September 1967 · Business founded: The Pocket Phone Shop · Sale price of company: £75 million · Football club owned: Crystal Palace F.C. · Ownership period: 2000–2010
Quick snapshot
- Founded The Pocket Phone Shop and sold it for £75 million (Talent4Media, talent agency profile)
- Chairman of Crystal Palace from 2000 to 2010 (BBC HARDtalk)
- Regular presenter on talkSPORT’s White and Jordan (FactSnippet, biographical database)
- Publicly diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2022 (SPORTbible, football news site)
- Exact current net worth — not publicly confirmed (Civic Insight, financial analysis site)
- Whether he personally filed for bankruptcy — Jordan denies it (SPORTbible)
- Total amount of money actually lost — estimates range from £40 million to £60 million (The Independent, UK national newspaper)
- Whether his wealth has fully recovered post-bankruptcy (Civic Insight)
- 1990s – Founds The Pocket Phone Shop (BBC)
- 2000 – Buys Crystal Palace FC for £11 million; sells business for £75 million (Talent4Media)
- 2004 – Leads Palace to Premier League promotion (Talent4Media)
- 2010 – Club enters administration; Jordan steps down (BBC)
- 2012 – Declared bankrupt (by some accounts) (Wikipedia, community encyclopedia)
- 2016–present – Media career at talkSPORT (Civic Insight)
- 2022 – Reveals prostate cancer diagnosis (SPORTbible)
- Continues as co-presenter on White and Jordan (FactSnippet)
- Possible return to business — hints at new ventures (The Sun, UK tabloid)
- Ongoing recovery from prostate cancer treatment (SPORTbible)
Below is a summary of the essential details about Simon Jordan.
| Label | Value |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Simon Jordan |
| Date of Birth | 24 September 1967 |
| Primary Income Source | Mobile Phone Retail |
| Company Sold For | £75 Million |
| Most Notable Role | Former Chairman of Crystal Palace F.C. |
| Current Profession | Media Pundit and Entrepreneur |
How Did Simon Jordan Make His Money?
Early career before mobile phones
- Jordan left school at 16 and started working in the motor trade (BBC HARDtalk, UK public broadcaster)
- He later sold mobile phones from the back of his car, after spotting a gap in the market (Talent4Media, talent agency profile)
Jordan didn’t come from money — he spotted an industry about to explode and jumped in first.
Finding the gap in the mobile phone market
- In the 1990s, mobile phones were still a luxury item; Jordan began selling them wholesale to small retailers (BBC)
- He scaled rapidly, opening high-street shops under the brand The Pocket Phone Shop (Talent4Media)
By the late 1990s, his chain was one of the largest independent mobile retailers in the UK, making him a multimillionaire before he turned 35.
The sale of The Pocket Phone Shop
- Jordan says he sold the company for £75 million in 2000 (Talent4Media)
- The buyer was a rival firm looking to consolidate the market (BBC)
Jordan walked away at 33 with a fortune that, adjusted for inflation, would be over £130 million today. He then did what many newly rich entrepreneurs dream of — bought his boyhood football club — a decision that would ultimately drain his wealth.
How Much Is Simon Jordan Worth Now?
The difficulty of estimating net worth
- Jordan’s current wealth is not publicly verifiable; he no longer holds public company shares (Civic Insight, financial analysis site)
- Most sources place his net worth around £8 million as of 2025, but that figure is speculative (Civic Insight)
Jordan has no obligation to disclose his finances, so any estimate is an educated guess. His talkSPORT salary is not public.
Comparing current wealth to past fortune
- After bankruptcy, Jordan said he was “a very rich man without the money” (The Sun, UK tabloid)
- He reportedly earns a six-figure income from his media work, but that is far from the millions he once had (FactSnippet, biographical database)
The pattern: Jordan is no longer a “millionaire” in the asset-rich sense, but he still commands a high-profile platform and lifestyle that most people would consider wealthy.
How Did Simon Jordan Lose His Fortune?
The cost of owning Crystal Palace
- Jordan invested heavily in the club: he paid £11 million for the club and later lent it £23 million–£24 million (The Sun)
- He also covered running losses, eventually putting nearly £40 million in cash into Palace (The Sun)
Three numbers tell the story: £75 million peak, £40 million sunk into Palace, £35 million left — then the rest disappeared through personal spending and legal costs.
Financial challenges and administration
- By 2010, Crystal Palace could not service its debts and went into administration (BBC)
- Jordan was the biggest creditor, but he chose to put the club into administration rather than inject more cash (SPORTbible, football news site)
Football ownership is famously a money pit; Jordan’s mistake may have been treating it as a business rather than a billionaire’s hobby. He lost his fortune because he was unwilling or unable to keep funding losses indefinitely.
Path to personal bankruptcy
- According to Wikipedia, Jordan said in 2012 that he had “blew” his £75 million fortune, losing £40 million on Crystal Palace (Wikipedia, community encyclopedia)
- The Independent reported him saying, “Losing £50 to £60 million in a couple of years in assets and cash hurts you” (The Independent, UK national newspaper)
- Jordan has denied that he personally filed for bankruptcy, but official records list him as bankrupt in 2012 (SPORTbible)
What this means: the exact legal status is disputed, but the financial result is the same — by 2012 Jordan had lost almost all of his liquid wealth.
What Illness Did Simon Jordan Have?
Public statements about his health
- In 2022, Jordan revealed on talkSPORT that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer (SPORTbible)
- He spoke publicly about his treatment, including surgery and recovery (The Times, UK newspaper)
Jordan used his media platform to normalise prostate cancer screening, encouraging male listeners to get checked early.
Is Simon Jordan Still a Millionaire?
The answer depends on how you define millionaire
- If “millionaire” means liquid assets over £1 million, Jordan likely still qualifies through his media earnings, book deals, and speaking fees (The City Celeb, celebrity biography site)
- But his public net worth estimates hover around £8 million–$11 million (Civic Insight; The City Celeb)
The pattern: Jordan has rebuilt his wealth, but he is a “modest millionaire” relative to his former self. The days of nine-figure holdings are over.
Timeline of Simon Jordan’s Career
- 1990s – Founds and grows The Pocket Phone Shop (BBC)
- 2000 – Buys Crystal Palace F.C.; sells phone business for £75 million (Talent4Media)
- 2004 – Wins promotion to Premier League with Palace (Talent4Media)
- 2010 – Club enters administration; he steps down as chairman (BBC)
- 2012 – Declared bankrupt (disputed) (Wikipedia)
- 2016–present – Builds media career at talkSPORT (Civic Insight)
- 2022 – Reveals prostate cancer diagnosis (SPORTbible)
Clarity Check
Confirmed facts
- Founded The Pocket Phone Shop and sold it for £75 million (Talent4Media)
- Served as Crystal Palace chairman from 2000 to 2010 (BBC)
- Currently a talkSPORT presenter (FactSnippet)
- Diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2022 (SPORTbible)
What’s unclear
- Exact current net worth (estimates range from £8 million to $11 million) (Civic Insight)
- Whether he formally filed for bankruptcy (SPORTbible)
- Total personal financial loss (£40 million–£60 million) (The Independent)
- Whether his wealth has fully recovered post-bankruptcy (Civic Insight)
Key Quotes about Simon Jordan
“Losing £50 to £60 million in a couple of years in assets and cash hurts you.”
Simon Jordan, as told to The Independent (UK national newspaper)
“Simon Jordan is one of the most articulate and opinionated voices in British sports media — his journey from phone shops to the Palace boardroom is genuinely unique.”
BBC HARDtalk presenter, in BBC interview introduction
“I had £75 million and I’ve done it.”
Simon Jordan, as told to The Times (UK newspaper)
Summary
Simon Jordan’s story is a rare public case of the full entrepreneurial cycle: build, sell, spend, lose, rebuild. For British football fans and aspiring business owners, the lesson is blunt — football club ownership is the fastest way to burn through a nine-figure fortune unless you have the patience (and deeper pockets) of a sovereign wealth fund. Jordan chose media influence over financial privacy, and that choice has kept him relevant, if not as rich as he once was.
youtube.com, footballfancast.com, jewage.org, linkopingskanalen.se
Frequently asked questions
What is Simon Jordan’s nationality?
British – he was born in London and is English.
Which football club did Simon Jordan own?
He was the chairman and owner of Crystal Palace F.C. from 2000 to 2010.
Did Simon Jordan write a book?
Yes, he authored an autobiography titled Be Careful What You Wish For.
What is Simon Jordan known for now?
He is a co-presenter on talkSPORT’s weekday show White and Jordan alongside Jim White.
Who is Simon Jordan married to?
He is married to a woman named Suzie, but he keeps his personal life largely private.
Related reading
- Sir Jim Ratcliffe: Net Worth, Football Clubs, Knighthood – another self-made billionaire who bought a football club
- Laura Woods: Collapse, Career Bio and Adam Collard – another prominent talkSPORT personality
George Thompson is Senior Reporter at UrbanMixr.uk, covering breaking culture, lifestyle and general news stories across the UK.