Rainbow Ltd./Dyson Vacuums Owner

Gloucestershire, United Kingdom

As an inventor, Sir James Dyson dreamed of metaphorically building a better mousetrap. He ended up building a better vacuum. His Dyson dual cyclone bagless vacuum cleaners disrupted the vacuum cleaner sector.

He’s also been sucking up acre after acre of the British Isles. With an estimated 25,000-acre estate, he’s the largest landowner in Britain — holding more property than Queen Elizabeth herself.

It took Dyson nearly two decades, but the Dyson Dual Cyclone became the fastest-selling vacuum cleaner ever made. Today, Dyson makes an array of home appliances, earning over $500M annually, making it one of the U.K.’s largest private companies. Under his leadership, Dyson has become the Apple of Appliances. — Kyle Hagerty