Britain’s wealthiest people are richer than they have ever been, with a combined fortune of £518.9 billion (US$874 billion) — equivalent to one-third of the nation’s GDP, according to an annual study.
The Sunday Times “Rich List” shows that the 1,000 richest men and women have surged to new heights, with their combined wealth rising by 15.4 percent on last year’s total of £449.6 billion.
TV chef Jamie Oliver, former Tesco supermarket boss Terry Leahy and, in the under-30s list, Harry Potter star Emma Watson, are included.
“I’ve never seen such a phenomenal rise in personal wealth as the growth in the fortunes of Britain’s 1,000 richest people over the past year,” said Philip Beresford, who has compiled the list since 1989.
“The richest people in Britain have never had it so good,” he told reporters. “The challenge now for the government and the rich themselves is to see this wealth percolate downwards and outwards, out of London and towards the north and west of the country.”
The enormous wealth of those on the list contrasts sharply with the stretched finances of ordinary Britons, many of whom are struggling to cope with the effects of five years of austerity.
Last week, the first part of the list found the number of billionaires living in Britain had risen to more than 100 for the first time, with Indian-born brothers Sri and Gopi Hinduja the country’s wealthiest people, with a combined £11.9 billion.
They replaced Russian business magnate Alisher Usmanov at the top after the Arsenal football club shareholder dropped a place as his fortune fell to £10.65 billion.
Only three of the top 20 are British, with David and Frederick Barclay, the publishers and property developers, the only self-made billionaires in this group.
The richest Briton, the Duke of Westminster, is ranked 10th with a property-based fortune of £8.5 billion.
The super-rich want to live in Britain because of “culture, financial services, nice tax regime, good education for their kids and a nice lifestyle where they meet their friends,” Beresford said.
John Roberts, creator of household appliance Internet retailer AO.com, makes his first appearance on the list with £410 million. He is one of five investors, who are all new entries, to benefit from the AO.com float in February.
Four management-level members of the King Digital Entertainment, the company behind the addictive Candy Crush Saga computer game, join the list for the first time.
Another new entrant is former Tesco supermarket boss Leahy, worth £100 million and ranked 863.
In the list of the 50 Young Rich, aged 30 and under, 24-year-old Harry Potter star Watson is now worth £30 million, up £3 million.
Husband and wife, Marcus Mumford, 27, and Carey Mulligan, 28, enter the young list with a joint fortune of £13 million from their music and films.
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