Tommy Hilfiger at his autumn/winter 2008-9 show

Tommy Hilfiger at his autumn/winter 2008-9 show
Born in 1951, by the age of 26 Tommy Hilfiger had a chain of ten specialty stores for campus kids in upstate New York
• He launched his own label in 1985. His first ad campaign cost him $3 million (£1.8m), and proclaimed him as one of the "Four Great American Designers for Men", along with Perry Ellis, Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren
• By 1990, sales of Tommy Hilfiger clothes had topped $25 million (£15m)
• Hilfiger was named Menswear Designer of the Year by the Council of Fashion Designers of America in 1995

The growing Tommy Hilfiger fashion empire, supplemented by fragrances and other merchandising spin-offs, is worth more than $400 million (£240m) a year. In 2006, Tommy Hilfiger sold his company for $1.6 billion, or $16.80 a share, to Apax Partners. Meanwhile, Hilfiger is known to spend much of his spare time - and money - on the Caribbean island of Mustique.