Britain’s richest people reached record levels of wealth last year even as the country was slipping back toward recession, according to the annual Sunday Times Rich List.
The combined fortunes of the 1,000 richest people in Britain rose by 4.7 percent to ￡414.26 billion (US$674 billion), despite high unemployment and harsh government cuts, beating the previous record of ￡412.85 billion set in 2008.
BILLIONAIRE HIGH
The number of billionaires also hit a new high of 77.
Indian-born steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal held onto the top spot for the eighth year running, although his fortune dropped in value by 27 percent to ￡12.7 billion as the share price of his main business ArcelorMittal plunged.
Just behind him with ￡12.3 billion came Uzbek-born metals and mining tycoon Alisher Usmanov, who holds about 30 percent of the parent company of Arsenal football club.
Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovitch was third on the list with ￡9.5 billion.
The wealthiest British-born billionaire was the Duke of Westminster, who owns a central London property empire, but he slipped from third place to seventh, with his fortune estimated at ￡7.35 billion.
New entrants included Andrey Andreev, 38, a London-based Russian businessman who founded dating Web site Badoo, with ￡500 million.
RECESSION
Britain is officially in recession after its economy contracted in the fourth quarter of last year and first quarter of this year, and the government has suffered a slump in popularity after cutting income tax for top earners in last month’s budget.
The government has also made harsh cuts in its spending, with British Prime Minister David Cameron last week standing by the austerity strategy despite fears it is undermining growth.
IDENTIFIABLE WEALTH
The Sunday Times list, which includes those for whom Britain is home or their main base of operations, is based on identifiable wealth such as land, property or significant shares in publicly quoted companies, and excludes bank accounts.
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