COUNTY’S RICHEST BUSINESS TYCOONS ARE WORTH £15BN
Entrepreneurs named on new Sunday Times Rich List
STAFFORDSHIRE business tycoons worth more than a combined £15 billion have been named among the richest people in the UK.
The families behind some of the county’s biggest employers, including online gambling giant bet365 and digger-maker JCB, appear in The Sunday Times Rich List 2022, alongside Staffordshireborn entrepreneurs John Caudwell and Kirsty Bertarelli.
Ranking first place in the West Midlands – and 17th in the UK overall – are Denise, John and Peter Coates, the family behind bet365 and Stoke City.
Together, the trio are worth a whopping £8.6 billion, which is £189 million more than in 2021. The Coates family are followed closely by JCB chairman Lord Bamford who, together with his family, is worth a huge £4.3 billion – making them the second richest in the West Midlands.
Lord Bamford’s family fortune fell by £275 million from last year meaning he is now the 42nd richest person in the UK – down from 38th place in 2021.
Next up is Phones 4u founder and philanthropist John Caudwell, who is ranked the fourth richest in the region and 115th overall with a £1.5 billion fortune which is up £14 million on 2021. He was ranked 103rd last year.
For the first time this year, Staffordshire-born singer/ songwriter and former Miss UK Kirsty Bertarelli appears in the rich list alone following her divorce from billionaire husband Ernesto.
She is ranked in 230th place with a personal fortune of £700 million while her source of wealth is listed as ‘divorce and song-writing.’
The Sunday Times Rich list is an annual index which ranks the country’s 250 wealthiest residents.
The number of billionaires has reached a record high in 2022 with 177 in the UK – which is six more than last year. Their combined wealth is £653.1 billion which is more than nine per cent higher than 2021.
Topping the UK rich list are London-based brothers Sri and Gopi Hinduja and family, who are now worth a record £28.4 billion, while tech tycoon Sir James Dyson’s £23 billion fortune makes him second.