Ratcliffe replaces Hindujas at the top of Britain’s rich list
LONDON: After topping Britain’s rich list for several years, the Hinduja brothers were relegated to the second position in the latest version by the ragsto-riches story of Jim Ratcliffe, who founded a chemical company and is estimated to be worth £21.05 billion.
The annual Sunday Times Rich List said Hinduja brothers, Srichand and Gopichand, were worth £20.64 billion after seeing their fortune rise by £4.44 billion from 2017.
At £14.66 billion, steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal and family dropped one place from
2017 to the fifth place in the top 10.
Robert Watts, who compiled the 1,000-member strong list, said the list had become more international since its inception in 1989, with more high net worth individuals from various countries moving to London and the United Kingdom.
He said: “Britain is changing. Gone are the days when old money and a small band of industries dominated the Sunday Times Rich List. Aristocrats and inherited wealth has been elbowed out of the list and replaced by an army of selfmade entrepreneurs”.
“Today’s super rich include people who have set up businesses selling chocolate, sushi, pet food and eggs. We’re seeing more people from humble backgrounds, who struggled at school or who didn’t even start their businesses until well into middle age.”
The 30th edition of the list finds the 1,000 richest individuals and families have a combined wealth of £724 billion — a 10% rise on last year’s figure of £658 billion. The billionaire count has risen to 145 — 11 more than last year.
In 1989, the rich list had only five rich individuals from the ethnic minorities; now the number has risen to 86, including 83 from the Asian community. Several of them arrived here as refugees, the list compilers said.
On more foreign high net worth individuals making it to the list, they added, “The reason they appear in the list is because London is now a magnet for the world’s super-rich. Tycoons running organisations straddling the world choose to base themselves and their business here in a way scarcely imaginable 30 years ago. But perhaps the most striking force blowing through the rich list is technology.”