Scotland has record number of billionaires

Grant-Gordon whisky family in top spot as Stagecoach pair see wealth fall

Scotland has more billionaires than ever before, according to a new survey of Britain’s wealthiest people.

The Sunday Times’ annual Rich List reveals there are a record 10 families and individuals with fortunes worth more than £1 billion, either living or born north of the border.

The much-pored-over tally shows the total wealth of the UK’s 1,000 richest men and women has risen by 14% – to £658bn – in the last year.

Top Tayside earners Mahdi Al-Tajir, who owns Blackford-based bottled water giant Highland Spring, and Sir Brian Souter and Ann Gloag – who run the Perth-based Stagecoach empire – have both seen their stock take a tumble, but they remain in Scotland’s top 15 – ahead of Harry Potter creator JK Rowling.

Hanging on to the top spot in Scotland is the Grant-Gordon family. The Banffshire-based family is behind the world-famous Glenfiddich whisky brand, which is now run by the fifth-generation descendants of its founder, William Grant.

The family is worth £2.37bn, up around £210 million from last year’s chart.

Former Harrods boss Mohammed Al Fayed and his family, who own the 65,000 acre Balnagown Estate in the Highlands, is in second place with £1.7bn.

Emirati businessman Mahdi Al-Tajir, who owns Kier House in Perthshire, dropped down the list from two to three. His worth has been estimated at £1.67bn, down £65m from last year.

The Thomson family, which founded DC Thomson – publishers of The Courier, the Press and Journal and the Beano, among others – have seen their fortune rise by £5m to £1.285bn, according to the study.

Sir Brian Souter and Ann Gloag suffered the biggest fall in Scotland’s top 15, and are no longer billionaires. The Sunday Times calculates their worth is down £80m to £920m.

The drop is said to be based on hefty charity donations made by the siblings.

Harry Potter author JK Rowling, who has a house in Perthshire, has seen her stock rise by £50m to £650m.

Pictures: PA/Getty Images. Mahdi Al-Tajir, main picture, who owns Highland Spring, and, right, from top, Sir Brian Souter and Ann Gloag of Stagecoach, and Harrods owner Mohammed Al Fayed.