As shoppers meander through a Carmarthen shopping centre, they're oblivious to the man standing outside one of its shop fronts. Dapper and unobtrusive, he goes unnoticed until the sound of a photographer's shutter captures the attention of those passing by. "Who's the guy in the suit?" queries one passer-by. He's a billionaire with roots in Carmarthenshire . His lineage is local; his father served as a policeman and his grandparents tilled the land here for generations. He received the full grant available - £300 annually - when he heading off to Cardiff to study at the university. "That was a lot of money in those days - I was very grateful for it," he reflected, seated comfortably in the Carmarthen outlet of his business. Doug Perkins, alongside his wife Mary, launched Specsavers in 1984 on the island of Guernsey. Now, fourty years on, their enterprise boasts close to 2,000 branches stretching from Carmarthen to London, Guernsey to Aberdeen, and even overseas in Spain and New Zealand. Their venture, which sells millions of spectacles and contact lenses each year, has grown into the world's largest privately-owned optician chain. Stay informed on Carms news by signing up to our newsletter here The Sunday Times Rich List of this year, 2025, estimates the family's fortune at approximately £1.539bn. Quite the achievement for a lad from Llanelli . He attributes his astonishing success to a background and upbringing that emphasised the principle: if you don't work, you don’t get. He staunchly adheres to this maxim: "I am well and truly working class. And I've used it as an advantage: it gives you extra drive, there's no doubt about that. When others may have slackened off, I've kept with the same work ethic for 50 years and I really enjoy what I do." Doug points out that his commitment to industriousness and straightforward hard work is what allowed him and his wife to construct an extensive empire from modest origins (his earlier days were spent working in a bowling alley in Ammanford) and what has maintained their business’s preeminent position. "Being working class gives you a work ethic but it also allows you to identify, always, with the importance of the customer, young and old, rich and poor," he explains. "That's one of the reasons why we've never gone on the stock exchange, because then you would spend half your time talking to institutional shareholders. "I'm not working for next year's results like most people on the stock exchange, watching the share price bob up and down - that doesn't interest me at all. My shareholders are out there on the shop floor." Doug's life took a turn in the 1970s. Following a humble start, he met Mary, and after tying the knot, they relocated to Guernsey to be closer to her family on the island. Together, they initiated a venture named Bebbington and Perkins ("in those days you had to call your business by your proper names"). Upon selling this firm, the enterprising pair went on to found Specsavers. "It was a project. We had invented this concept and we wanted to prove that the concept was a winner against some of these corporate companies. It got so exciting that we just wanted to keep going and we still feel that way. "We didn't have any big ambitions then, only to come back to Wales and to the west country, but we had so much interest that we decided to go national." Regular trips to Carmarthenshire remain on Doug's itinerary to maintain ties with family and his cherished Scarlets ("and to support the academy, which is the best in Wales"). Doug's passion for rugby is evident from his time playing with the Carmarthen Quins during the 1965/66 season, and he notes the significant progress the town and county have achieved since. However, despite various transformations, Doug remarks: "I recognise that Carmarthen has kept its character - it still works as a market town, and it still brings people in from great distances. "Carmarthen works, Llanelli works, but I do think Carmarthen probably works better because it's retained its central character - not too much has gone to the outskirts - but Carmarthenshire as a whole is a great retreat. It's not a surprise to know that more people are coming here. West Wales in general has hugely improved; it's an amazing place." Despite his fondness for his home county, Doug has no plans to relocate back to West Wales permanently. He's been living in the same house that he and Mary purchased when Specsavers was merely a concept. "I've not been attracted to move anywhere else and I normally keep the same car for about 10 years!". "People think, 'this guy might be bonkers'. They might think why on earth, if he lives on an island and he's got the same house and the same car, is he still working? I can't really answer that." Looking ahead, Doug believes that, due to an ageing population, there will be an increased demand for glasses. "If you're going to live until you're 90, you're going to get eye problems. We can help stop that. I think we would like to grow where we can make a difference. We have a very good team of people now and we're ambitious to do even more significant things." Doug, now in his 70s, will play a pivotal role in these plans, continuing to grow a business that is fundamentally rooted in a strong work ethic, while delegating some tasks to his trusted deputies in Specsavers stores across Europe and globally. "In terms of our senior management, I think a fair number of them have working class backgrounds. They seem to identify better with the value for money and the personal service side of things," he says. "I don't personally go out looking for working class executives, but they seem attracted to the values that we have."