BILLIONAIRES’ BOOST
Nation’s top two power couples see wealth rise £700m in one year
WALES’ two billionaire couples have added more than £700m to their combined wealth over the past year, to cement their place in the rich list top 10.
Venture capitalist Sir Michael Moritz and his American wife Harriet Heyman are jointly worth £2.629bn according to the latest Sunday Times Rich List, where they rank in sixth place in the husbands and wives section.
Cardiff-born Sir Michael is best known for having bankrolled Google, Yahoo!, PayPal and YouTube among other internet companies.
His wealth, along with that of his novelist wife, has increased by £679m over the past 12 months according to the latest list, which is due to be published on May 7.
In eighth place, Specsavers founders Douglas and Dame Mary Perkins have also done well over the past year with their joint fortune up £50m to £1.6bn.
Born in Carmarthen, Douglas Perkins met his future wife on the first day of their optometry course at Cardiff University.
They went on to found Specsavers after moving to Guernsey in the early 1980s.
Cumulatively, the 10 richest husbands and wives in the UK have seen their fortune increase by £3.4bn in the past 12 months.
Sir Philip and Lady Green were the only couple on the list whose wealth was said to have decreased over the last year.
Ranked fifth, they have seen their wealth fall by £433m to £2.787bn.
Controversial Arcadia boss Sir Philip agreed to pay £363m to settle the BHS pension scheme in February. The department store chain plunged into administration just over a year ago.
In total, the 10 couples on the list are worth £39.9bn, according to the findings.
Ernesto and Kirsty Bertarelli top the list of the richest husbands and wives, with wealth put at £11.5bn.
Those behind the list said the couple’s fortune is largely derived from the sale of the family biotech business Serono and the soaring share value in a further pharma business, Santhera.
Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken, the daughter of late Heineken boss Freddy Heineken, and her husband Michel de Carvalho were identified as the second wealthiest couple in the UK with a fortune put at £9.3bn.
The rich list, described as “the definitive guide to wealth” charts the fortunes of the 1,000 richest individuals and families in the British Isles.
Robert Watts, who compiled the 2017 edition, said: “This year’s Sunday Times Rich List will show how the make-up of Britain’s richest 1,000 people is changing – with a record number of women and more husband and wife partnerships than before.
“Starting a business with your other half may not appeal to everyone. A bit of pillow talk about balance sheets wouldn’t suit all marriages, but there are clearly some couples who are making it work – and very well.
“The growing number of women we’re seeing in the Rich List is part of a greater diversity, with more people from ethnic backgrounds and more surprising walks of life, with soft toy makers and dating app developers lining up with privateequity barons and hedge-fund managers.”