- Source of Wealth: Online Bingo (tombola.co.uk)
- Age: 50
- Birth Place: Sunderland, North East England, England
- Marital Status: Married (Madison)
- Full Name: Phil Cronin
- Nationality: British
- Date of Birth: August 1, 1969
- Occupation: CEO (Tombola Ltd.)
- Education: Harvard Business School, Durham University North East England (BS Computer and Electronics)
- Children: 3 (Mike, James, Rob)
In 1999, Cronin set up tombola.co.uk, an online bingo operation. The Sunderland-based family has been involved in bingo for about 50 years, but the online business has created a valuable new income stream, with profits soaring to £10.9m on sales of £22m in 2009-10. It is easily worth £70m, and the family has other wealth.
In the 1960s, Phil’s father, Frank, took over Edward Thomson which was then a stationery shop. Eventually, the company started creating and printing bingo tickets. And from a shop with just 10 employees, it grew into a successful company with over 700 employees. In fact, it was considered as one of the largest employers for nearly five decades.
Three decades later, Phil decided to join the business, but in 1995, he put up his own company which specialized in selling interactive game cards. Four years later, tombola was established. Since then, the company continued to grow. In fact, it was also launched in Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Phil currently has a net worth of $123 million.