She was born in England to a father who "worked in the wine trade", and traveled widely when young. She spent her childhood in Hongkong and Japan. Tina Green opened her first fashion boutique in Johannesburg, when she and her family moved to South Africa. Married to British retail businessman Sir Philip Green, her second husband, Tina Green owns all of the family shares in Jersey-registered Taveta Investments. As a result, she has been referred to as the wealthiest and second-wealthiest woman in the UK. Tina Green also co-founded an interior design firm, Green and Mingarelli Design.
Taveta Investments
Via Jersey-registered Taveta Investments and its subsidiaries, Green owns 2,300 shops in the United Kingdom. Taveta's assets include:
As a result, Taveta controls 12% of the UK clothing retail market, making Taveta the second-largest operator in the sector. The leader, Marks & Spencer, has been the target of three unsuccessful takeover bids from Taveta.
Criticism
Green's wealth stems from her relationship with her second husband, British retail magnate Sir Philip Green. The arrangement between the married couple means that the couple minimise their UK taxation liability. As a result, Sir Philip has become the target of activist group UK Uncut, initially in November 2010, for his history of corporate tax avoidance. The group targeted Sir Philip specifically as a UK Government advisor. He became the focus of anger over the programme of government cuts that campaigners said could be avoided if tax dodging was stamped out, bringing in some £25bn a year to the public purse and reducing the national debt. On 4 December 2010, campaigners staged a sit-in at Arcadia's flagship London Topshop store in Oxford Street. In Brighton, a few campaigners glued themselves to the branch's windows. Other high streets in towns and cities across Britain saw similar protests in a day of action against the tax arrangements of rich individuals and big businesses. Since Taveta Investments is owned by Tina Green, who resides in Monaco, protestors claim that the couple avoid paying £285 million in UK personal income tax, that would be payable if a UK resident owned the company. In November 2005, Sir Philip approved a dividend payout that benefitted his family via Taveta/Tina Green by £1.2bn, paid for by a loan taken out by Arcadia, cutting Arcadia's corporation tax as interest charges on the loan were offset against profits. The payout was the biggest annual dividend payout to an individual by a British company.
Personal life
Green has been married twice. She met her first husband, Robert "Bobby" Palos, a South African jazz drummer, in Hong Kong when she was 17 and he was 31. They married a year later. He subsequently became a retailer, and the marriage ended in divorce. They had two children: artist and author Stasha Palos, and businessman Brett Palos. She is currently married to Philip Green. They have two children: Chloe, who released her own line of designer shoes under the Topshop brand in 2012, and Brandon.
Tina Green has been linked to the controversial tycoon Richard Caring, owner of the Annabel's nightclub and close friend of her husband Philip Green. Leaked HSBC documents proved that Tina Green held under her name assets for Richard Caring, who according to The Guardian received "£93m in BHS dividends from Sir Philip Green", while he was also a major supplier of BHS. Caring also secretly owned shares in BHS, through offshore companies, the press revealed. In a formal investigation on Tina and Philip Green, Richard Caring "refused to reveal how much money he acquired from the sale of his significant stake in BHS in an open letter to the MPs investigating the collapse of the department store chain". Tina Green was the ultimate owner of BHS when the scandal erupted. Tina Green can often be seen at the Annabel's.
