William Adderley (known as Bill) was born on a Council Estate in February 1948 in Leeds, Yorkshire.He is a devout Roman Catholic. Adderley left school at 16, with a basic education level. He was a boyhood fan of Leeds United
In 1979, while looking for a new job, Adderley and his wife Jeany sold curtains which had been rejected by Marks and Spencer from a stall in Leicester market. In 1984, they opened their first home furnishings store, calling it Dunelm. He retired from Dunelm at the age of 50 and left the growth of the company in the capable hands of his Son william and at this time the company floated in 2006.
In October 2013, The Guardian commented that Adderley had become the largest private shareholder in Marks & Spencer, having built a stake valued at £250 million.
According to Forbes, as of December 2014, Adderley and family own 53% of the shares in Dunelm, giving a net worth of $1.7 billion.
