Crisis, but not for rich Britons

Fat cat cartoon by Steve Bell in Britain

Crisis, what crisis? Britain’s richest double their wealth in 10 years

The 1,000 wealthiest people in the UK are now worth £547bn, not counting what’s in their bank accounts, according to the latest Sunday Times Rich List

Sunday 26 April 2015 00.49 BST

The collective wealth of Britain’s richest people has more than doubled in the last 10 years, according to the Sunday Times Rich List.

This year’s list found the wealthiest 1,000 individuals and families now have a combined fortune of just over £547bn – or £547m each on average.

The figure has more than doubled since a total of just under £250bn was recorded in 2005, despite the world economy being gripped by a punishing recession over much of the last decade.

Plain old millionaires increasingly struggle to count themselves among the mega-rich, with a fortune of £100m now required to make it into the top 1,000. That is £15m higher than last year’s minimum.

Back in 1997, it took a personal wealth of just £15m to make the grade.

The list, published on Sunday 26 April, includes 117 billionaires – up from 104 last year. And 80 of these are based in London – giving the capital more sterling billionaires than any other city in the world.

London-based Ukrainian businessman Len Blavatnik, whose empire includes the Warner Music Group, came top of the list thanks to his estimated fortune of £13.17bn.

He rose from fourth to first after his wealth rose by more than £3bn.

Blavatnik ousted brothers Sri and Gopi Hinduja from top spot. They were nudged into second, despite their fortune rising by £1.1bn to £13bn.

Galen and George Weston and family, who run a retail empire including Selfridges and Primark, enjoyed a particularly prosperous year – with their wealth soaring by £3.7bn to £11bn.

Not all those in the top 25 have got richer, however.

Steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal’s fortune fell by £1.05bn to £9.2bn and Chelsea Football Club chairman Roman Abramovich’s total fell by £1.23bn to £7.29bn.

The list charts wealth including land, property, assets or significant shares but excludes bank accounts.

Recession rich: Britain’s wealthiest double net worth since crisis. Richest 1,000 families control total of £547bn, rising by more than 112% since 2009, and own more than poorest 40% of British households: here.

THE total wealth of the richest 1,000 individuals and families in Britain has more than doubled in the last 10 years to £547bn, the 2015 Sunday Times rich list survey has found. So much for ‘we are all in it together’: here.

Britain’s super-rich have doubled their wealth since 2009: here.

PLAID leader Leanne Wood made a radical call yesterday for legislation to rebalance Britain’s wealth and power away from the hands of the few. Her demand came in response to the Sunday Times’s publication of its annual Rich List, which confirmed that the rich are still getting richer and the poor yet poorer: here.