Margaret Whittaker OBE, the successful British businesswoman who died earlier this year in Palma, left a fortune estimated at 43 million pounds, according to a report in the Daily Mail newspaper. The article states that this does not include the value of her Mallorca property.
Margaret had extensive business interests on Mallorca including the Son Amar entertainment spot near Bunyola, which she completely transformed making it one of the most popular attractions on the island.
She was the British founder of the hugely successful Slimming World and its charity SMILES and she was named Business Woman of the Year. In 2000 the British National Health Service recognised Slimming World's success by creating an official referral facility. Doctors could proscribe a series of 12 sessions to allow patients to control their weight. It was the first time that the National Health Service had collaborated with a slimming organisation.
Margaret was obliged to leave school when she became pregnant aged fifteen. The child was called Claire and Margaret married Claire's father, Roy Miles, in 1964 when she was 16. She worked in an office, she worked in shops which included stacking supermarket shelves and managing a furniture store.
Her second husband, Tony Whittaker, died in 2021. In 2023 she was recognised as Business Woman of the Year. Margaret died in Mallorca in February 2025. Her funeral cortege passed by her company's headquarters, where 500 people were employed, en route to a funeral in Derby Cathedral. A service of Remembrance was also held at Son Amar, attending by scores of her friends on the island.
Apart from being a hugely successful businesswoman she will be remembered on Mallorca for her kidness, business vision and her love for the island.