Vidal Sassoon was born on the 17th January 1928, in Hammersmith, London, UK, of Jewish ancestry, and was a hairdresser and businessman. He became known as ‘the man who launched the bob cut’ in the 1960s, a style followed by actors and in the media. This fit in the mind of that time with short and sleek lines in fashion, such as the mini-skirt. He passed away in 2012.
How much is the net worth of Vidal Sassoon? It has been estimated by authoritative sources that the size of his wealth is as much as $130 million, as of the data presented in the middle of 2017.
Vidal Sassoon Net Worth $130 Million
To begin with, the boy was raised in Hammersmith by his parents Nathan Sassoon and Betty Bellin. Due to the poor financial condition of the family, Sassoon started working early – his mother quickly saw his talents, and sent him to a hairdressing salon at the age of 14. He started as a shampoo boy, which later became his nickname. After World War II, Sassoon became a member of the anti-fascist group 43 Group, then n 1948 fought in the Israeli army during the Arab-Israeli War.
In 1954, he opened his first salon in London, which was followed by stores in other cities such as New York. The bob cut broke in 1963 – film director Roman Polański paid Sassoon $5,000 for the original haircut of the star Mia Farrow for his movie “Rosemary’s Baby”. After gaining a following for his stylings, he moved to Los Angeles in the early 1970s, where he opened the world’s first salon chain, accompanied by a line of hair care products. Overall, he managed to expand his business into a chain of 25 private beauty salons and four beauty academies, Sassoon developed its own line of hair care products under the brand Vidal Sassoon, which he sold to Richardson Vicks in 1982, then founded the Vidal Sassoon International Centre for the Study of Antisemitism (SICSA), an apolitical information centre. Later, he financed the Boys Clubs of America financially, an organization that is responsible for after school activities for young people. He also supported Los Angeles Music Centre, as well as projects in Israel.
Vicks subsequently came into the hands of Procter & Gamble (P&G) in 1985, and was gradually reduced in favour of their own brand, Pantene, so that they didn’t have to pay royalties to Sassoon. In 2003, P&G decided to put the brand name on ice, and Sassoon applied a lawsuit against P&G, as they were destroying his brand name. This trial was ultimately settled out of court.
Today there is a professional line of hair care products called Sassoon. He sold his hairdressing salons in 2002 to the Regis Corporation, the largest hairdressing company in the world.
In 2009, he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). In 2010, a documentary was made about his life and work entitled simply “Vidal Sassoon: The Movie”.
Finally, in the personal life of Sassoon, he was married four times and fathered four children. He was married to Elaine Wood (1956 – 1958), Beverly Adams (1967 – 1980), Jeanette Hartford-Davis (divorsed) and Rhonda Holbrook (1992 – until his death). One of his children was the actress Catya Sassoon, who died in 2002 at the age of 33 after a heart attack brought on by an overdose of cocaine and hydromorphone.
He died at the age of 84, on the 9th May 2012, in Los Angeles, California – it had been known for some time that he was suffering from leukemia.
