Britain’s billionaires have taken a battering and lost huge amounts of money if their wealth is tied in to oil, steel or mining.
The family behind Europe’s biggest steel maker ArcelorMittal have seen their wealth plunge from more than £27 billion in 2008 to £7.12 billion in the latest Sunday Times Rich List for 2016.
Lakshmi Mittal, the head of the family, has plummeted from top of the list to 12th place in that time. His £27 billion fortune is the largest ever recorded in the British listings.
This year’s top dogs are David and Simon Reuben.
The brothers are property tycoons whose portfolio includes Millbank Tower on the Thames near Westminster and the HQ of department store chain John Lewis, also in the capital.
Their fortune adds up to £13.1 billion.
If you’re not worth £103 million, you’re off the list
They are closely followed by another pair of brothers – Sri and Gopi Hinduja.
The family owns and runs the Hinduja Group, a conglomerate involved in international banking, trade and investments.
The Hindujas booked wealth of £13 billion.
Third is Leon Blavatnik, another conglomerate investor, with a fortune listed as £11.59 billion – down by £1.58 billion from last year’s list.
To qualify as one of Britain’s 500 wealthiest people, a fortune of £103 million is required.
More women featured this year than ever before – 125 or one in four of the multimillionaires and billionaires.
Dyson cleans up with £5 billion fortune
Other well-known names on the list include:
- Vacuum cleaner mogul Sir James Dyson became the first self-made Brit to have a wealth of £5 billion.
- F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton is the richest sports figure, with £106 million in the bank. Tennis star Andy Murray is reportedly worth £57 million and Manchester United footballer Wayne Rooney has a bank balance of £108 million.
- Former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney is the wealthiest musician, with £760 million. Adele is the richest woman musician, worth £85 million – £35 million more than last year.
- Britain’s wealthiest woman is Denise Coates, who controls the world’s largest international online betting portal Bet365. She has a personal fortune of £3.65 billion.
The combined wealth of Britain’s 120 billionaires adds up to £344 billion, a 6% increase on 2015.
