Early Life and Business Beginnings
David Sullivan, former joint chairman of West Ham United, once described himself as a "collector of women, like some people collect stamps".
"I can have up to three a day but some days I don't have any - it depends how I feel and what else is happening," he told a newspaper interviewer in 1989. "I have a desire to make love to most women."
The billionaire businessman amassed his fortune through the adult entertainment industry in the pre-internet era, dealing in magazines, films, telephone chat lines, and newspapers featuring topless glamour models and young women who had just turned 16.
Often referred to as the "king of porn" within the industry, the 77-year-old ranks among the wealthiest individuals in the UK. He manages a media, property, and publishing empire from his 14-bedroom mansion in Essex.
Recently, a joint investigation by BBC Panorama and The Times has brought to light allegations of sexually exploitative and predatory conduct spanning several decades.
Sullivan denies all accusations, labeling them as factually incorrect and entirely false. In a statement released on Saturday, he criticized the BBC's investigation as "fundamentally unfair."
As he confronts these allegations of abusing his power, it is pertinent to examine how he achieved his wealth and influence.
Role in Football and Early Career
Sullivan is primarily recognized for his involvement with West Ham United, which he acquired alongside business partners in 2010.
He was present on the pitch when West Ham secured the UEFA Conference League trophy in Prague in 2023, donning a claret blazer and club tie, and has frequently been seen in the directors' box during matches at the London Stadium.
Although he has stepped down as joint chairman, he remains the club's largest single shareholder, holding a 38.8% stake.
Born in Cardiff in 1949 to a Royal Air Force officer and his wife, Sullivan's initial business experience involved selling football programmes.
After earning a degree in economics from Queen Mary University, London, he worked as an advertising executive, marketing products such as pet food and hand-rolled tobacco.
In the early 1970s, dissatisfied with his £30-a-week salary, Sullivan and a university friend began selling topless photographs of female models from a warehouse in Forest Gate, East London.
The mail-order business rapidly expanded into pornographic magazines and books on sexual techniques.
The News of the World branded them "Britain's newest purveyors of filth," a label Sullivan stated "made my mother cry."
Authorities took notice, and in 1973, Sullivan and his partner, both in their early twenties, were charged with conspiring to publish and distribute obscene materials. They pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey and were each fined £50.
While his partner exited the industry, Sullivan persisted, growing his adult entertainment empire by pushing the boundaries of acceptable content.
By the late 1970s, he was selling over a million copies of increasingly explicit pornographic magazines monthly, using them to advertise sex toys and adult films he produced.
He established a chain of sex shops nationwide and produced adult films, several starring his girlfriend Mary Millington, a glamour model turned pornographic actress who was married to another man and died by suicide at age 33.
Sullivan later claimed,
"I created the image of Mary Millington - I was like the Simon Cowell of the sex industry."
Launching Newspapers and Legal Issues
By the early 1980s, the News of the World estimated Sullivan's net worth at £10 million, owning over 100 sex shops, several racehorses, and a luxurious home in Chigwell.
Allegations of abuse of power surfaced as early as 1981, reported by the Sunday newspaper. A woman claimed she was denied employment after refusing to have sex with Sullivan.
One reporter, Tina Dalgleish, responded to an advertisement for "promotional entertainment work" and reported that Sullivan told her sex was a job requirement and that he needed to "judge her performance." He asked her to come upstairs and strip to her underwear. She complied but then dressed and left.
In 1982, Sullivan was convicted of profiting from massage parlours in London where men paid for sex. He served 71 days in prison after his nine-month sentence was reduced on appeal.
Following his release, Sullivan shifted focus to mainstream publishing.
In 1986, he launched the Sunday Sport, a newspaper featuring bizarre, lurid, and salacious stories alongside numerous pages of topless glamour models. The publication quickly succeeded, followed by the Daily Sport a few years later.
The newspapers featured a segment called "Countdown to 16," showcasing photos of partially clothed schoolgirls, culminating in topless photos published on their 16th birthdays—the legal minimum age for topless appearances at the time, raised to 18 in 2004.
Tony Livesey, former editor-in-chief of the Sport newspapers and current BBC Radio 5 Live presenter, claimed in his book that he and Sullivan created the feature. He later denied this to the BBC, stating it was "categorically" not his idea and that much of his book was fictionalized to portray himself as central to the stories.
The House That Porn Built and Football Ownership
In the early 1990s, Sullivan purchased Birch Hall, a large estate spanning 12 acres near Theydon Bois, which he developed at a cost of £7.5 million. The property includes a bowling alley and two swimming pools.
In his late 40s, he fathered two children, David Junior and Jack, with then-girlfriend Emma Benton-Hughes, a pornographic film actress and director.
By this time, Sullivan had entered football ownership, acquiring Birmingham City in 1993 alongside David and Ralph Gold, owners of the Ann Summers sex toy and lingerie chain.
Baroness Karren Brady, then 23 and working in marketing for the Sport newspapers, was appointed managing director. Brady is now a member of the House of Lords and a television personality, known for her role as an aide to Lord Sugar on BBC One's The Apprentice.
Brady has maintained a close working relationship with Sullivan, most recently serving as vice-chair of West Ham, which Sullivan and the Gold brothers took over in 2010.
West Ham fans have protested against the ownership due to perceived underinvestment and poor team performance.
In April, Brady resigned as vice-chair with five Premier League matches remaining, as West Ham faced relegation, which was ultimately confirmed.
Controversies and Associations
Sullivan has been linked to an individual identified by a judge as the leader of an organized crime network involved in extreme violence and fraud.
In 2014, reports indicated Sullivan loaned £1 million to David Hunt after a failed libel case against the Sunday Times left Hunt with an £800,000 legal bill.
At the time, Sullivan's spokesperson described the transaction as a "normal commercial loan secured at a normal commercial rate."
