A man from Leeds has seen his wealth grow by £45m in the past year during the pandemic, making him a millionaire despite leaving school at 16 with no qualifications.
For weeks and months, ueues outside supermarkets, panics over toilet paper, and empty shelves were - briefly - common sights, reports Leeds Live.
But the upheaval in our daily lives also forced a massive change to our wider shopping habits as more and more of us turned to online shopping for retail therapy. And one Leeds man saw his fortunes soar as a result.
Steve Parkin now ranks tenth on Yorkshire's Rich List according to Business Insider, and saw his wealth grow by £45m last year alone.
Parkin is said to have started online logistics giant Clipper in 1992 as a 'man with a van'. Now the company's huge warehouses are a common sight alongside motorways, and it counts household names like Marks and Spencer, ASDA and Morrisons among its customers.
This summer, the company reported its turnover had risen by 39.1% to nearly £700 million - while its workforce had grown by 2,000 meaning Parkin's firm then employed 10,000 people.
And soon after it was reported that Parkin had cashed in £2m worth of shares in the company.
Leeds born and bred Parkin is the son of a fishmonger and reportedly left school at 16 with no qualifications, before getting his HGV driving licence.
One of his first jobs was driving for Huddersfield's Bonmarche clothing company, and his company has grown into a multi-million behemoth with bases across the UK and Europe.
A Leeds Utd fan for more than 50 years, Parkin's company name now graces the team's training kit and he's even said to have thought about buying the club himself twice.
He's also a racing fan and horse race owner, and in 2020 saw his own horse Eagles By Day win the prestigious John Smith's Cup at York - the day after Leeds won promotion to the Premier League.
