David Sullivan is a Welsh businessman and former pornographer. He is known for being in a relationship with Ampika Pickston, a Cheshire-based businesswoman and reality TV star best known for her role on “The Real Housewives of Cheshire.”
David is also a philanthropist who has supported Prostate Cancer UK for over 15 years as a patron. He is a strong supporter of the Teenage Cancer Trust, as well as a number of other organizations around the country.
David Sullivan's Net Worth
As of April 2022, David Sullivan’s net worth is estimated to be £1.2 billion. His career as a businessman is his main source of income. David runs the “Conegate” investing firm. The said firm owns property in London, notably the Russell & Bromley flagship retail premises on Oxford Street near Bond Street tube station.
His fortune is also growing as a result of his other commercial activities, including his role as joint-chairman and largest single stakeholder of Premier League football club West Ham United F.C. and his prior role as joint-chairman of Birmingham City.
David's Early Life
David Sullivan was born on February 5, 1949 in Cardiff, and he is the son of an RAF serviceman. He was raised in a Penarth council house until his father was deployed to Aden, Yemen, when he was ten years old, where they remained for a year before returning to England to live in Hornchurch, Essex.
He presently resides at Birch Hall, Essex, near Theydon Bois. It was constructed in 1992 by Ashby and Horner following Sullivan’s design on 12 acres (49,000 m2) of land at a cost of £7.5 million for the land and construction. This is on top of a commercial real estate empire worth approximately £500 million.
Other details about his early life, such as the names of his parents and siblings, were kept hidden from the public spotlight. We will update this page when we learn more.
David Sullivan's Education
David Sullivan graduated from Abbs Cross High School with 10 O Levels. David also attended Watford Grammar School for Boys after his family relocated to Hertfordshire, where he earned three A levels. Later, he studied Economics at Queen Mary College, University of London.
David Sullivan's Wife/Girlfriend and Family Life
After being friends for over a decade, David Sullivan is said to be dating and now engaged, to Ampika Pickston of Real Housewives of Cheshire. They were spotted on a stealth date night in October. Ampika is a businesswoman and reality television personality, who is most known for her involvement on “The Real Housewives of Cheshire.”
With ex-girlfriend Emma Benton-Hughes, Sullivan has two children, David and Jack, whereas the real housewife was previously married to a man named Mark and had a son named Jake.
David Sullivan's Career
With the help of his business partner, David Sullivan got into the pornography business. His initial project endeavor was selling softcore pornographic images, which he extended into sex stores, adult publications, and a number of low-budget blue films, making him wealthy by the age of 25.
He had half of the adult magazine industry in the UK, comprising prominent publications like Playbirds and Whitehouse, 80 percent of the adult mail order business, and 150 stores by the late 1970s. He also created a number of low-budget British sex films, notably Harrison Marks’ “Come Play with Me.”
Furthermore, “The Playbirds,” “Confessions from the David Galaxy Affair,” and “Queen of the Blues,” all of which starred his then-girlfriend Mary Millington, followed. Despite her death in August 1979, he continued her “True Blue Confessions,” and “Emmanuelle in Soho,” works, according to his Wikipedia.
In terms of his football business, David acquired Birmingham City alongside David Gold and Ralph Gold in 1993. The new owners received an 80 percent interest in the Midlands firm in the historic purchase.
He initially stated his wish to sell his Birmingham City share in 2007, and he freely revealed three reasons for his prospective exit, saying, “One, the geographical distance. I’ve said for years the journey to Birmingham is killing me. Two, I think deep down the public have had enough of us. They think we should have mortgaged our houses to buy more players to compete with Chelsea and Arsenal. The honeymoon is long over and we’re at the divorce stage now, unfortunately. And I also feel we’ve had no support from Birmingham Council.”
David emphasized his wish to remain in football after he left Birmingham. He and David Gold bought a 50% stake in West Ham United in January 2010, handing them operational and business control and valuing the Premier League team at £105 million. Karren Brady, who helped turn around City’s fortunes, has joined the Hammers as vice-chairman.
“It’s going to take time to sink in,” the businessman said on the day the takeover was announced. “We’ve been wanting to sit here for 20 years and together we owned 27 per cent of the club 22 years ago and it’s taken us 22 years to get to where want to be. Both me and David are supporters, I went to university here and I lived in Hornchurch. David lived 50 yards from the ground for 20 years of his life and played for West Ham’s youth team. We just want to be here where we’ve always wanted to be. There is no other club we would want to be at so for us we have come home and that’s what it’s all about.”
Within five months, the David and Gold partnership vowed a new commitment to the club, increasing their ownership to 60% on May 25, 2010, with him holding 30%. Vice-chairman Karren Brady subsequently said that the move provided the football club with “much-needed stability,” and that he and Gold were personally paying the team’s transfer operations in September 2012.
David supports West Ham’s proposal to relocate into the Olympic Stadium in Stratford as part of his long-term goals for the club. West Ham signed a 99-year lease on the stadium on March 22, 2013, with the 2016–2017 season set to be their first at the venue.
He became West Ham United’s largest single stakeholder in July 2013, when he purchased a further 25% of the club’s shares. During a 3–0 home loss to Burnley in March 2018, there were uprisings against him at the London Stadium. There were four pitch invasions, and he was taken from his place before the game ended, as well as being struck by a coin thrown by a fan.
Recently, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Hornchurch’s season in the Isthmian Competitive Premier Division was halted in November 2020, and the club was unable to play any league games. David, who used to reside in Hornchurch, helped them financially at this period.
For his philanthropic activities, David has been a sponsor of Prostate Cancer UK for over 15 years, and he is also a strong advocate of the Teenage Cancer Trust, as well as a number of other organizations around the country.
In May 2012, he donated a five-figure sum to a foundation for children with autism to commemorate West Ham’s admission to the Premier League. He contributed £25,000 to FareShare, which contributes to Marcus Rashford’s Child Food Poverty Taskforce, in October 2020 to assist tackle child food poverty.
Today, David Sullivan is still running his several enterprises, and he may start another one in the future.
The Number Of Lawsuits Filed Against David Sullivan
David Sullivan was found guilty in 1982 of living off the illicit profits of prostitutes. He won his appeal, and after 71 days in prison, he was released. He said that he was unconcerned in the origins of his early success.
“I’ve made a lot of people happy,” he said at that time. “If I was an arms manufacturer or a cigarette manufacturer, and my products killed millions of my clients, I’d have a bit of doubt about the whole thing. I was a freedom fighter. I believe in the right of adults to make their own decisions.”
In a separate legal drama, on March 26, 2018, David exploited West Ham United to avoid paying £700,000 in tax for his own family business, “Conegate Ltd,” which he used to acquire £2 million in shares in the holding company that controls West Ham, according to an HMRC tax tribunal ruling. The shares were converted to “deferred shares” the same day, declared essentially worthless, and sold back to the parent company for £1. As a result, “Conegate” was able to lower its tax burden by £2 million.
David Sullivan's Appearance (Height, Hair, Eyes & More)
| Height | X ft X in X.X m |
|---|---|
| Weight | — pounds — kg |
| Hair Color | Brown |
| Eye Color | Brown |
| Body Type | Fit |
| Sexual Orientation | Straight |
Facts About David Sullivan
| Nationality | British |
|---|---|
| Estimate Net Worth | £1.2 billion |
| Religion | — |
| Zodiac Sign | Aquarius |
| Birthplace | Cardiff |
| Birthday | February 5, 1949 |