He was the hairdresser to the stars who became a celebrity himself, socialising with pop icons, Hollywood A-listers and prime ministers at the world’s most glamorous events.
But away from the parties and the paparazzi, John Frieda was also an astute multi-millionaire businessman who built an extraordinary global property empire from his London mansion – next door to the Beckhams.
Frieda, who died aged 75 last week, had embarked on his property-buying spree even before he and his business partner sold rights to his hair care range for £334.3million to a Japanese conglomerate 26 years ago, allowing him even bigger budgets for buying homes.
His portfolio included – at various times – a mansion in Hampshire, a deluxe chalet in Verbier in the Swiss Alps, a villa and a health spa in Ibiza.
He also had not one but two grand apartments in New York as well as a string of properties in the New England commuter belt and he lived in a £45m mansion in London’s Holland Park.
He always had a keen eye for property and even by the age of 20, as a rising star, he reportedly owned three London flats – living in one and renting out the other two.
Much of Frieda’s business life was spent in the United States and he fell in love with the area around Candlewood Lake, Connecticut, not far from his US base in Danbury, about a 90-minute drive from Manhattan.
As well as being a brilliant hairdresser to the stars, John Frieda was a very successful businessman and used his £300million fortune to buy and sell properties. Ibiza was close to his heart and he owned this villa Finca Losa Olivos on the island
At one stage the privately educated British hair stylist who became a household name lived in this £45million mansion in London’s Holland Park – which made him a neighbour of the Beckhams
Hairdresser to the stars Frieda, pictured at his Mayfair salon, died last week at the age of 75
Beginning in 1992, he bought up no fewer than seven properties bordering the manmade lake, which boasts its own nearby sailing club nearby, but by 2011, he had sold them for a hefty profit.
He also once had an apartment in New York City’s fashionable Chelsea district, and is believed to have owned a Manhattan penthouse.
Closest to Frieda’s London roots among his properties was a huge £45million house in Holland Park, just along the road from the Beckhams.
The property was sold in 2023, according to Land Registry records.
Not far down the M3, another family home is a large Grade II listed Edwardian house in the village of Upton Grey near Basingstoke, Hants, with extensive grounds.
Frieda also owned a chalet in the exclusive Swiss resort of Verbier, where his family put down roots: his younger children Leyla Luna, 21, and 19-year-old Jackson, still live in Switzerland.
The jet-setting crimper turned tycoon also expanded his property empire in Ibiza to include Finca Losa Olivos in the hilly interior of the island and an exclusive wellness centre called Our Retreat, near San Antonio Bay, now costing from £2,600 a week for sole occupancy.
He had first visited Ibiza in 1972. Upon setting foot in what was then a tiny airport, he recalled feeling a ‘powerful energy’ and decided to put down roots there.
‘Ibiza has always held a special place in my heart, having had a family home on the island for the last 40 years,’ he told Ibiza Bay magazine.
‘There’s a magical, almost mystical, quality that remains at the heart of the island which draws me back time and time again.’
Along with the eight bedrooms, there are two swimming pools, a floodlit tennis court, a yurt and yoga platform and an outdoor terrace overlooking the pool.
As well as hair, Frieda always had a keen eye on the property market and owned three London flats by the age of 20. He also also owned this exclusive wellness centre Our Retreat in Ibiza
Frieda married British singer Lulu in 1977. They were together until their divorce in 1991 when Frieda himself said that they had grown apart. He then moved to the US. Here the former couple are in LA at the Grammy awards in 2000
His personal share of the sale of John Frieda Professional Haircare Inc was around £165 million – equivalent in today’s terms to £319 million, allowing him to be very generous with his money, something which extended into the political arena.
A steadfast admirer of Margaret Thatcher, he was, ironically, the main donor behind the Conservative leadership campaign of Iain Duncan Smith, whose baldness was said to be one of the reasons he was considered unelectable.
In 2015, Frieda – who was a generous donor to the Tories – hosted then-PM David Cameron’s wife Samantha at Losa Olivos in Ibiza.
Frieda and his wife were among the 400-odd guests who paid £1,000 a head to attend the Tories’ 2012 summer party, where they sat either side of the Camerons on the top table.
Frieda received the biggest cheer of the night as he thanked the partygoers for attending, before attacking ‘loony Lefty nutters’.
The creator of the Frizz Ease range and who cut the hair of Twiggy, Jackie Kennedy and Mick Jagger, left behind his three children.
He had a son, Jordan with his first wife, the British singer Lulu whom he married in 1977.
After their divorce, he moved to the US and married British architect Frances Avery Howe, whose first husband was the late Italian businessman Giovannino Agnelli, heir to the Fiat dynasty who tragically died from cancer aged 33 in 1997.
Frieda had two children with his second wife, Jackson and Leyla.
He was also a stepfather to her daughter Asia Agnelli from her marriage to Mr Agnelli.
Frieda had begun his career at just 16, working for Leonard Lewis, better known as Leonard of Mayfair, who also trained Nicky Clarke and Daniel Galvin.
Soon photographers and editors would seek John out, leading him to work across the globe for Vogue.
When he turned 25, he stopped working for Leonard and struck out on his own.
In 1977, he married Lulu—the ex-wife of Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees—who owned a country house in San Raphael, Ibiza.
That same year, he opened his first hair salon in London and welcomed his son, Jordan, now 49, who went on to become an actor and is now a well-known restaurateur.
In 1980, he opened the first of his three London salons. On morning television shows, John would demonstrate his products live on women’s hair, achieving spectacular results.
Among his property portfolio is this family home is a large Grade II listed Edwardian house in the village of Upton Grey near Basingstoke, Hants. It is still owned by Frieda’s second wife
Frieda is survived by his second wife Frances Avery Howe, a British architect, with whom he has two children and a stepdaughter. Here they are pictured together in 2019
After he moved to the United States, his brand became the top seller across twenty-eight thousand stores – a position it held for ten years.
The rise of John Frieda began with hair – but it extended into bricks and mortar, a lot of bricks and mortar around the world.
The probate process, assessing, valuing and distributing his estate, is going to be a complex and time-consuming process – and potentially a very lucrative one for those named in his will.
