Martin Lewis' net worth, famous wife and tragedy that 'stole his childhood'

Martin Lewis has been a household name in the UK for many years now and his fame has seen him amass an impressive fortune years after a tragedy struck the TV host in his childhood

Martin Lewis became a household name thanks to his financial expertise over the years.

The Money Saving Expert has guided the nation through many a cash strapped moment including lockdowns and the cost of living crisis. The Martin Lewis Money Show on ITV has provided invaluable advice on many difficult situations including the vital energy price cap and how to make the most of your savings and bank accounts.

Martin has been recognised for his services when in 2014 he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). Then at the beginning of 2022 he was upgraded to a CBE. Martin hasn't just helped the general public manage their money, he even raised millions for charity, including £4 million for the Coronavirus Poverty Emergency Fund.

Martin, 52, has amassed a staggering net worth thanks to his success but life hasn't always been easy for the Mancunian after he suffered a tragic loss as a young boy. Martin isn't the only famous face in his family, as his wife is television presenter Danielle Lara Lewington, 45. The couple have been happily married since 2009 and share a daughter together - Sapphire Susan Lewis who was born in 2012 - who Martin describes as his "mini MSE."

As a teen, Martin studied government and law at the London School of Economics before doing a postgraduate in broadcast journalism at Cardiff University. His first media job was working as a producer for the BBC's business unit, but it was on digital start-up channel Simply Money that he debuted his Money Saving Expert persona. When the channel went bust in 2001, he was given a Money Saving Expert slot on Open House with Gloria Hunniford, and it is around that time that he is said to have started sending a regular email to friends titled, Martin's Money Tips.

According to BBC Radio 4's Profiles segment, his friends started passing it on to their friends, and as demand grew, he decided to set up his own platform. In 2003 he launched his hugely successful website, MoneySavingExpert.com, for just £100 with only himself as staff. In 2012 he sold it to the Money Supermarket Group for £87million, £10million of which he set aside for charity.

He remained as editor-in-chief and later as executive chair, and according to The Sunday Times rich list 2021, he now has a net worth of a staggering £123million. And his achievements are astonishing given the terrible tragedy that befell Martin and his family when he was just 11 years old.

Of the earth-shattering event, he told Radio 4: "Three days before my 12th birthday I went to Sunday school - or Jewish Sunday school as it was - someone strange picked me up and when I got home I was told mum had been horse-riding with my sister and there had been an accident involving a lorry. The next day my dad told me she had died the next morning - and that was the end of my childhood. I cried every day until I was 15."

The heartbreak drove Martin into seclusion for most of his teenage years, and good friend Kerry Perkins - who he met at uni - said he would never be the same again. "But I think he would be the first to admit that it was the making of him in many ways because he has that drive from losing his mum and wanting so much to prove that he could do everything for her," she said . "I know she's always with him even though she isn't actually present in his life any more."

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