Sunday Times Rich List 2017: The wealth of Britain’s billionaires has boomed despite Brexit, but Mike Ashley, Sir Philip Green and Selfridges owning Weston family lose millions
The wealth of Britain’s richest has rocketed with more billionaires than ever before, new figures reveal.
Brexit failed to derail the rise of the super-rich and the collective cash of the world’s wealthiest topped a whopping £658bn – that’s up 14 per cent on last year.
There are now 14 more billionaires in Britain than this time last year, with the number climbing to 134, according to the annual Sunday Times Rich List.
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And it’s the Hinduja brothers who boast the biggest bank account of £16.2bn, topping the list. Their fortune grew by £3.2bn, reclaiming a title they last held in 2014.
Other stalwarts in the ranking include Warner Music owner Len Blavatnik, who topped the list in 2015 and this year was the second richest person in the UK, followed by property magnates David and Simon Reuben who topped the list last year.
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The top 20 richest billionaires all increased their fortunes despite the turbulent geopolitical climate, apart from the Weston family, owners of Selfridges and Primark. The falling value of the family’s shares in Associated British Food (ABF) cost them £500m.
Outside the top 20, Britain’s wealthiest retailers also felt the pinch. The wealth of Sir Philip Green and Lady Green, the owners of Topshop and formerly BHS, saw their wealth shrink by £433m, It still stood at £2.7bn, however. And Mike Ashley, the controversial owner of Sports Direct, lost £270m, reducing his wealth to £2.2bn.
UK ranking
Name
Source of wealth
2017 wealth
Wealth increase/
decrease
1
Sri and Gopi Hinduja
Industry and finance
£16.2bn
Up £3.2bn
2
Len Blavatnik
Investment, music and media
£15.982bn
Up £4.392bn
3
David and Simon Reuben
Property and internet
£14bn
Up £900m
4
Lakshmi Mittal and family
Steel
£13.229bn
Up £6.109bn
5
Alisher Usmanov
Mining and investment
£11.791bn
Up £4.211bn
6
Ernesto and Kirsty Bertarelli
Pharmaceuticals
£11.5bn
Up £1.72bn
7
Guy, George and Galen Jr Weston and family
Retailing
£10.5bn
Down £500m
8
Kirsten and Jorn Rausing
Inheritance and investments
£9.66bn
Up £960m
9
The Duke of Westminster and the Grosvenor family
Property
£9.52bn
Up £170m
10
Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken and Michel de Carvalho
Inheritance, brewing and banking
£9.3bn
Up £150m
11
Hans Rausing and family
Packaging
£9.25bn
Up £650m
12
John Fredriksen and family
Shipping and oil services
£8.057bn
Up £1.757bn
13
Roman Abramovich
Oil and industry
£8.053bn
Up £1.653bn
14
Sir James Dyson and family
Household goods and technology
£7.8bn
Up £2.8bn
15
Sir David and Sir Frederick Barclay
Property, media and internet retailing
£7.2bn
Up £200m
16
Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber and family
Hotels, food and industry
£6.763bn
Up £923m
17
Earl Cadogan and family
Property
£6.5bn
Up £800m
18
Jim Ratcliffe
Chemicals
£5.75bn
Up £2.55bn
19
Nicky Oppenheimer and family
Diamonds and mining
£5.534bn
Up £704m
20
Carrie and Francois Perrodo and family
Oil, gas and wine
£5.176bn
Up £1.826bn
New entries making their way on to the list for the first time include the superstar singer Adele and Ukip donor Aaron Banks with a net worth of £125m and £250m, respectively.
The co-founders of tech unicorn Skyscanner have also made it after selling the company in one of the biggest tech deals of last year. Bonamy Grimes and Gareth Wiliams landed a windfall from the £1.4bn sale to China’s Ctrip which boosted their wealth to £142m and £215m, respectively.