American fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger has an estimated net worth of $250 million in 2012. He is best recognized as the founder of Tommy Hilfiger Corporation, a renowned lifestyle brand.

Of Scottish, Swiss, Irish and German ancestry, Thomas Jacob Hilfiger was born on March 24, 1951 in Elmira, New York. At age 18, he started a career in retailing. He bought bell-bottom pants and jeans which he later customized and sold to a downtown store. Eventually, he launched his first store, The People's Place. At age 25, the store went bankrupt. He then went back to academe to study commerce. Later on, he was offered a post as assistant to Perry Ellis and Calvin Klein.

It was in 1984 when Tommy Hilfiger Corporation was launched. In 1992, the company went public. As of 2004, the company already had more than 5,400 employees and was earning an annual revenue of more than $1.5 billion. In 1995, he was named by the Council of Fashion Designers of America as the Menswear Designer of the Year.

Through time, the company's sales begin to decline which led him to sell the company to the private investment company Apax Partners for $1.6 billion. In March 2010, he sold Tommy Hilfiger Corporation to the owner of Calvin Klein Corporation, Phillips-Van Heusen for $3 billion. In March 2012, he joined American Idol as a fashion consultant.