Secret Millionaire Went From Having £37 Million To Living In Caravan With £100 In Bank

A man went from being worth £37 million to having just £100 in his bank account and living in a caravan.

Cheshire-born Rob Lloyd, who has appeared on Channel 4's Secret Millionaire in 2009, used to be one of the richest men in Wales with an annual salary of roughly £350,000, as reported by WalesOnline.

In what was believed to be a 'rags to riches' story, the 57-year-old floated his property firm Eatonfield Group on the stock exchange in 2006, where his worth grew to that whopping £37 million figure.

The entrepreneur then spent £6 million on a racing yard and another £2 million on horses - as well as a few farms.

However, the former-tycoon, who now lives in Rhos on Sea, Conwy, racked up a reported £26 million worth of debts in July 2011 following the market collapse, which led the company going into liquidation.

North Wales Live

Rob said: "It really brings everything into perspective.

"From one minute, you've got all the toys, all the race meetings, and you're flying here, flying there. You're just living the five-star treatment and then, all of a sudden, it hits you. 

"For just over a year I was living in the caravan and for that first year it was grim, cold and damp. The second year wasn't much better. 

"But then I had started doing the odd deal. That's the good thing with property.

"You can make and lose money. One decent property deal can get you back to where you need to be. And then you just start building it back again."

In 2017, Rob featured on The Real Housewives of Cheshire alongside Ester Dee - the woman he had a daughter with.

In what was a bit of a crazy situation, Ester revealed as well as being engaged to Rob, she was married to John Temple, another millionaire.

It seems like 2020 wasn't really a good year for anyone - especially Rob - who was given the shocking news that he had cancer.

Alamy

He added: "With your health, you just don't know what's around the corner. I never thought I'd get cancer.

“I never thought I'd become really ill because I've always been healthy all my life. And then this thing happens and it puts a different light on it. 

"With the business side, I think it's market forces. I built up the company, we were very successful, and then all of a sudden this depression hit.

"The problem was when the banks were in freefall, there's not a lot I could do about it. The market just stopped and it was out of control. 

"It's difficult – you just keep your head down in the trenches and keep battling and battling."

Topics: UK News