Who is Dragons’ Den star Peter Jones?

Dragons’ Den is back for its 21st season, inviting a new group of entrepreneurial hopefuls to try their best to convince the Den’s whip-smart investors to part with their hard-earned cash.

The latest outing features a show first, with guests Gary Neville and Emma Grede joining the show’s in-house panel of Dragons which this year includes Peter Jones, Deborah Meaden, Touker Suleyman, Sara Davies and Steven Bartlett.

Read more: Who are the Dragons on Dragons' Den?

With various Dragons coming and going through the Den over the years, it can be tricky keeping on top of who founders are looking to impress. With that in mind, here’s a handy refresher on one of the show’s most familiar faces, Peter Jones.

Who is Dragons’ Den star Peter Jones?

Peter Jones CBE is not only one of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs, he’s also Dragons’ Den’s longest-serving Dragon, having joined the show on its 2005 debut and sticking around to season 21 in 2024.

As if that wasn’t impressive enough, Jones has also made guest appearances on Dragons’ Den’s American counterpart, Shark Tank, bringing his expertise to entirely new international markets and earning the nickname ‘Mr Global’ thanks to his world-spanning investments.

Impressive, for sure - but who is the man behind the Dragon and how did Jones garner such a celebrated reputation in the investment space?

Jones is known for his investment portfolio which spans the technology, food, fashion and publishing sectors. He started his career at just 16 years old when he founded his own Tennis Academy and followed this up with a computer business venture created while he was still studying for his A Levels at age 17.

The combined effort of these two projects led him to become a millionaire by 21. Cut to 2021 and his net worth was estimated to be somewhere around £1.157 billion according to The Sunday Times Rich List.

In 2005, he founded the Peter Jones Foundation - a project designed to help guide and support young people with their creative endeavours by providing world-class education initiatives. The same scheme also gave young savvy start-ups the chance to bag financial support to help catalyse their own creative business ideas.

As of the show’s 21st season in 2024, Jones has pledged around £6.5 million of his own cash into various Den investments. These span products as varied as the child-friendly sunscreen applicator Solar Buddies to Levi Roots’ famous Reggae Reggae Sauce.

Who will be joining Peter Jones in Dragons’ Den 2024?

Jones might be the Den’s most dedicated Dragon but that doesn’t mean he’s the only one that newcomers will have to impress when the time comes to pitch their ideas.

Joining him is the show’s second longest-serving investor, Deborah Jones, who first joined the show back in 2003. Together, they’ll be flanked by fellow investors like Touker Suleyman who joined in season 13, and Sara Davies who first appeared in 2019's 17th season and was - at that point - the show's youngest investor to date at just 35 years old.

It was Steven Bartlett who eventually broke that record when he joined season 19 in 2021. Together, the show’s current group of Dragons be joined by guest investors Gary Neville and Emma Grede in the show’s latest outing.

Dragons Den season 21 is available now on BBC One and iPlayer.