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Brief Introduction of Simon Jordan
Simon Jordan is a prominent English businessman, media personality, and author, renowned for his sharp wit and unfiltered opinions. He initially amassed his fortune in the burgeoning mobile phone industry of the 1990s, co-founding and later selling the highly successful retail chain, The Pocket Phone Shop, for a reported £75 million. This success allowed him to purchase his boyhood football club, Crystal Palace, in 2000, making him the youngest chairman in the Football League at the time. His tumultuous decade-long ownership of the club was marked by both a promotion to the Premier League and eventual administration. Since leaving football ownership, Jordan has reinvented himself as a formidable media figure, co-hosting the popular talkSPORT radio show ‘White and Jordan’, writing columns for national newspapers, and authoring a best-selling autobiography. His journey is a compelling narrative of entrepreneurial success, the perils of football ownership, and a successful pivot into the world of sports media.
Simon Jordan Overview
| Full Name | Simon Jordan |
| Date of Birth | 24 September 1967 |
| Age(as of 2025) | 58 |
| Birthplace | Thornton Heath, South London, England |
| Profession | Businessman, Media Personality, Author, Former Football Club Owner |
| Husband/Wife | Not married |
| Family | Father: Peter Jordan. Children: One daughter, one son. |
| Relationship/Affairs(GF/BF) | Michelle Dewberry |
| Net Worth | Estimated to be around £75 million |
Early Life and Education of Simon Jordan
Simon Jordan was born on September 24, 1967, in Thornton Heath, South London, England. Growing up in close proximity to Selhurst Park, the home of Crystal Palace Football Club, he developed a lifelong passion for the team. His father, Peter Jordan, was a former player for Crystal Palace, though he never made a first-team appearance. As a youth, Jordan himself showed promise as a footballer and was on the schoolboy books of both Chelsea and Crystal Palace. However, he has stated that while he possessed the talent, he lacked the mental application required to pursue a professional career and was released by Chelsea at sixteen. He attended Purley High School for Boys in Old Coulsdon. After his brief footballing spell, Jordan’s focus shifted towards business. His early forays into the working world included a brief and unsuccessful business venture with a friend selling mobile phones through newspaper ads and a stint at Carphone Warehouse, which provided him with crucial experience in the mobile phone industry.
Simon Jordan’s Career
Simon Jordan’s career is a multi-faceted story of entrepreneurial zeal, sporting passion, and media reinvention. His initial and most significant financial success came from the mobile phone industry. In 1994, alongside his business partner Andrew Briggs, he co-founded The Pocket Phone Shop with an initial investment of £30,000. The company capitalized on the mobile phone boom of the 1990s and expanded rapidly, growing to over 200 stores nationwide. In 2000, at the age of 32, Jordan and his partner sold The Pocket Phone Shop to One2One for a sum reported to be between £73 million and £75 million.
Fresh from this lucrative sale, Jordan fulfilled a childhood dream by purchasing Crystal Palace Football Club, who were in administration at the time, for £10 million in 2000. This made him the youngest chairman of a Football League club. His ten-year tenure as owner was a rollercoaster of highs and lows. The club achieved promotion to the prestigious Premier League in 2004, a significant accomplishment. However, the financial realities of running a football club proved challenging, and after a decade at the helm, the club was placed into administration in 2010, ending Jordan’s ownership. During his time as chairman, he gained a reputation for being outspoken and was involved in several high-profile disputes, including a court case against former manager Iain Dowie.
Beyond the mobile phone industry and football, Jordan has been involved in various other business ventures. In 2002, he co-founded the car magazine Octane, selling his shares in 2006. He also entered the hospitality industry, opening a restaurant and bar in London called Club Bar and Dining in 2006, which he later sold in 2011. Furthermore, Jordan has ventured into film production, funding and producing the film Telstar: The Joe Meek Story (2008) and executive producing Sweeney Todd (2006), which starred Ray Winstone.
Following his departure from Crystal Palace, Simon Jordan successfully carved out a new career in the media. He has become a prominent and often controversial voice in sports broadcasting. He is best known as the co-presenter of the ‘White and Jordan’ show on talkSPORT, a popular mid-morning radio program. His direct and opinionated style has made him a respected, if sometimes divisive, pundit. He has also written columns for several national newspapers, including The Observer and the Daily Mail. His autobiography, “Be Careful What You Wish For,” published in 2012, was a commercial and critical success, offering a candid insight into his time in football ownership.
Simon Jordan Personal Life & Family
Simon Jordan’s personal life has often been as colourful as his professional career. He is not married but is in a long-term relationship with businesswoman and broadcaster Michelle Dewberry, who is known for winning the second series of “The Apprentice UK”. The couple has a son together, who was born in July 2020. Jordan also has a daughter from a previous relationship with Suzi Walker, born in January 2008. His father, Peter Jordan, was a semi-professional footballer who played for Crystal Palace. Jordan has been candid about his health, revealing in August 2023 that he was recovering from prostate cancer surgery and used his platform to encourage men to get tested. Over the years, he has been linked with other high-profile personalities, including a past relationship with Meg Mathews, the former wife of Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher. He has resided in both London and Marbella. Jordan’s personal life has also seen its share of challenges; in 2018, he was the victim of a gunpoint robbery where his high-value watch was stolen.
Awards and Achievements of Simon Jordan
- Achieved significant financial success by co-founding and selling The Pocket Phone Shop for a reported £75 million by the age of 32.
- Became the youngest chairman in the Football League upon purchasing Crystal Palace Football Club in 2000.
- Oversaw Crystal Palace’s promotion to the Premier League in the 2003-2004 season.
- Authored the best-selling and critically acclaimed autobiography, “Be Careful What You Wish For”.
- His talkSPORT radio show, ‘White and Jordan’, won the Audio Show of the Year at the SJA British Sports Journalism Awards in 2021 and 2023.
Simon Jordan Net Worth and Income
As of 2025, Simon Jordan’s net worth is estimated to be around £75 million. His primary source of wealth was the sale of his mobile phone retail company, The Pocket Phone Shop, in 2000 for a reported £73-£75 million, which made him a multi-millionaire at a young age. However, he has openly discussed losing a significant portion of this fortune, with a substantial amount lost during his ownership of Crystal Palace Football Club. In recent years, his income is derived from his successful media career, which includes a salary from his role as a co-presenter on the popular talkSPORT radio show ‘White and Jordan’. While his exact salary is not public, it is believed to be a significant six-figure sum. Additional income streams include his work as a newspaper columnist for the Daily Mail, book sales, and public speaking engagements. He has also had various other business interests over the years in publishing, hospitality, and film production that have contributed to his overall wealth.
Legacy and Influence
Simon Jordan’s legacy is that of a quintessential modern entrepreneur: bold, outspoken, and unafraid of reinvention. He made an indelible mark on the UK business landscape with the phenomenal success of The Pocket Phone Shop, a venture that exemplified the lucrative opportunities of the 1990s tech boom. In the world of football, his tenure at Crystal Palace serves as both an inspiring and a cautionary tale. As the youngest chairman in the league, he brought a fresh, if often confrontational, energy to the game. His willingness to invest his personal fortune and his genuine passion for the club are undeniable, though his time in charge also highlighted the immense financial pressures and potential pitfalls of football ownership. In his post-football career, Jordan has forged a significant and influential role in sports media. Through his work on talkSPORT and his newspaper columns, he has become one of the most prominent and powerful voices in British sports commentary, known for his incisive analysis and unfiltered opinions that often shape public debate.
Interesting Facts about Simon Jordan
- He was a talented youth footballer and was on the books of both Chelsea and Crystal Palace.
- He became a multi-millionaire and the youngest chairman of a Football League club at the age of 32.
- His father, Peter Jordan, also played for Crystal Palace.
- He co-founded a car magazine called Octane in 2002.
- Jordan has produced two films, including Telstar: The Joe Meek Story, which he solely funded.
- He once supported a former Crystal Palace captain, Geoff Thomas, in his leukaemia research fundraising efforts by playing in a charity match at the new Wembley Stadium and scoring a goal.
- In 2023, he publicly shared his battle with prostate cancer to raise awareness.
Controversies
Simon Jordan’s career has been punctuated by a number of public controversies, often stemming from his outspoken nature. During his time as chairman of Crystal Palace, he had a reputation for a high turnover of managers in the early years and engaged in a very public and acrimonious High Court battle with former manager Iain Dowie, whom he accused of lying to get out of his contract. Jordan was also fined by the Football Association for bringing the game into disrepute over comments he made in his newspaper column about football agents. His candid and often abrasive style as a media personality on talkSPORT frequently leads to on-air clashes and debates that generate headlines. He has also spoken about how the financial collapse of his Crystal Palace ownership, which led to the club entering administration, was a deeply challenging period that significantly impacted his finances and reputation.
Social Media Presence
- Instagram – Information not publicly available
- Twitter – Information not publicly available
- YouTube – Features prominently on the talkSPORT YouTube channel, which has a large subscriber base.
Final Words about Simon Jordan
Simon Jordan’s life and career represent a compelling arc of ambition, success, adversity, and resurgence. From the dizzying heights of building a mobile phone empire from scratch to the emotional and financial turmoil of owning his beloved football club, he has experienced the extremes of the business and sporting worlds. His transition into a media powerhouse is a testament to his resilience and adaptability. Today, Simon Jordan is arguably more influential as a pundit and commentator than he ever was as a club chairman. His unfiltered, experience-led commentary on talkSPORT and in his columns continues to captivate and provoke audiences, cementing his status as a unique and enduring figure in British public life. His journey serves as a powerful narrative on the complexities of success and the art of reinvention.