Trained as an accountant, Peter Hargreaves initially worked as a computer salesman. He then started Hargreaves Lansdown trading from a bedroom in 1981; in 2010, he stood down as chief executive, receiving £18 million in payouts from dividends. He was succeeded as CEO by Ian Gorham. He is reportedly now worth £2,315 million according to the Sunday Times Rich List 2017, making him the 51st richest person on the list. Hargreaves joined the board of ITM Power in February 2004 as a non-executive director: he has invested heavily in ITM Power. In March 2016 he joined the Leave.EU movement to campaign for the UK's exit from the European Union. In September 2017 Hargreaves announced a £25 million backing in Blue Whale Capital – a new asset management company set up by previous colleague, Stephen Yiu.