Sir James Dyson tops rich list as coronavirus hits mega-wealthy
Entrepreneur Sir James Dyson has climbed to the top of the Sunday Times’ annual rich list, which saw the combined wealth of its 1,000 constituents fall due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Dyson, who takes the top spot for the first time, saw his net worth increase by £3.6bn in the last year, despite a £500m investment in an electric car that will never be produced.
The increase means that the businessman is now worth £16.2bn in total.
However, for many people on the list, the coronavirus crisis has meant a decline in their net wealth, with the full impact yet to be known.
Although in February the Sunday Times predicted that the total number of billionaires on the list would increase to 160, in reality it fell by four to 147.
Furthermore, the minimum wealth required to make the list remained at £120m, despite forecasts that it would rise to £125m.
The biggest losers were the Hinduja family of tycoons, and Ineos owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who both saw their net worth fall £6bn.
The losses meant Ratcliffe’s wealth declined to £12bn, which means he falls from third to fifth in the list.
The 20 richest people in Britain
| 2020 Rank | 2019 Rank | Name | Source of Wealth | 2020 Wealth | Rise/Fall |
| 1 | 5 | Sir James Dyson and family | Household goods and technology | £16.2bn | +£3.6bn |
| 2= | 1 | Sri and Gopi Hinduja and family | Industry and finance | £16bn | -£6bn |
| 2= | 2 | David and Simon Reuben | Property and internet | £16bn | -£2.664bn |
| 4 | 4 | Sir Leonard Blavatnik | Investment, music and media | £15.781bn | +£1.411bn |
| 5 | 3 | Sir Jim Ratcliffe | Chemicals | £12.15bn | -£6bn |
| 6 | 6 | Kirsten and Jorn Rausing | Inheritance and investment | £12.1n | -£156m |
| 7 | 8 | Alisher Usmanov | Mining and investment | £11.68bn | +£341m |
| 8 | 13 | Guy, George and Galen Jr Weston and family | Retailing | £10.53bn | +£30m |
| 9 | 7 | Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken and Michel de Carvalho | Inheritance, brewing and banking | £10.3bn | -£1.7bn |
| 10 | 14 | The Duke of Westminster and the Grosvenor family | Property | £10.295bn | +£195m |
| 11 | 10 | Mikhail Fridman | Industry | £10.234bn | -£666m |
| 12 | 9 | Roman Abramovich | Mining | £10.156bn | -£1.065bn |
| 13 | 16 | Marit Rausing and family | Packaging | £9.59bn | -£16m |
| 14 | 15 | Ernesto and Kirsty Bertarelli | Pharmaceuticals | £9.2bn | -£511m |
| 15 | 12 | Anil Agarwal | Mining | £8.5bn | -£2.07bn |
| 16 | 19 | Denise, John and Peter Coates | Gambling | £7.166bn | +£310m |
| 17 | 17 | Sir David and Sir Frederick Barclay | Property, media and internet retailing | £7bn | -£1bn |
| 18 | 20 | Earl Cadogan and family | Property | £6.817bn | -£33m |
| 19 | 11 | Lakshmi Mittal and family | Steel | £6.781bn | -£3.888bn |
| 20 | 18 | John Fredriksen and family | Shipping and oil services | £6.625bn | -£918m |
Last week it was reported that Ineos’ energy venture, Petroineos, was seeking a £500m loan from the government due to the current crisis.
For the first time, there are 25 women billionaires among the 1,000 richest people in Britain and a total of 150 women in the list who have, or share, personal fortunes worth £120m or more.
The list’s compiler Robert Watts said: “Ever since the financial crisis of 2008-09 the Britain’s wealthiest people have become richer and richer.
“Covid-19 has called time on their golden period. This year’s Rich List paints a picture of Britain on the brink of calamity – two months after lockdown and already billions of pounds have been wiped out”.