uk richest personalities

Sunday Times Rich List 2012 – UK’s Richest People

By TheRichest | Google+ in National Rich List, The FeaturedShare on email

Published: May 15, 2012 at 4:36 am

The Sunday Times released its 2012 UK Rich List, it reveals that the 1,000 wealthiest people in the country are now worth a combined £414.260 billion, equivalent to more than a third of the national debt. The combined wealth of the 1,000 richest men and women in Britain has risen to record levels in the past year, despite the country’s continuing economic slump. Indian steel magnate, Lakshmi Mittal remains richest person in UK despite seeing 27% (£4.8bn) wiped off of his wealth.

The Sunday Times Rich List 2012 is compiled by Philip Beresford, the leading authority on British wealth. The list is based on identifiable wealth, land, property, other assets such as art and racehorses, or significant shares in publicly quoted companies, and does not include the cash in their bank accounts, meaning the true level of their wealth could be even higher.

Top 20 Richest People In UK as of 2012

#1. Lakshmi Mittal & family

Net Worth: £12.7 Billion – As of April 2012
Source of Wealth: Steel

Britain’s best-known Bollygarch is the biggest faller in The Sunday Times Rich List for the second consecutive year but Mittal and his family extend their run at No 1, which started in 2005, thanks to their enormous fortune made from steel. Although he has topped the Sunday Times Rich List for eight consecutive years, last year was a comparatively bad one for the Indian-born steel magnate. Falling stock markets wiped several billions off his personal fortune. He owns a stake in, Queens Park Rangers.

#2. Alisher Usmanov

Net Worth: £12.3 Billion – As of April 2012
Source of Wealth: Steel

Russian steel and mining magnate, is well known to fans of Arsenal, as he owns a 27% stake in the club, which began in 2007 and has not abated even since the American Stan Kroenke took control in 2011. He can console himself with the fact that his personal fortune increased grown by a whopping £7.7 billion in 2010. That’s easily the biggest increase of anyone on the Rich List.Usmanov’s portfolio of business interests now includes timber, telecoms and internet companies.

#3. Roman Abramovich

Net Worth: £9.5 Billion – As of April 2012
Source of Wealth: Industry, Oil

The oil tycoon and Chelsea football club owner  has presided over another season of turmoil, hiring Andre Villas-Boas, then firing him eight months later. Even after a costly divorce from his second wife, Irina, in 2007, Abramovich has a string of property, art and yachting assets. He now lives with Dasha Zhukova, 30, an oligarch’s daughter who gave birth to his sixth child, a boy, in 2009.

#4. Sri and Gopi Hinduja

Net Worth: £8.6 Billion – As of April 2012
Source of Wealth: Industry, Finance

The Hinduja brothers inherited their father’s conglomerate, which has interests in the power, automotive and defence industries in India and worldwide. Gopichand and Srichand are now based in Britain and the company has bought British outsourcing business Careline as well as a stake in bus manufacturer Optare.

#5. Leonard Blavatnik

Net Worth: £7.5 Billion – As of April 2012
Source of Wealth: Industry

Moscow-born Blavatnik is based in both New York and London (he paid £41 million for his home in Kensington). In 2009, the US arm of his Lyondell Chemical operation had to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy but it has since emerged back into profit. His stakes in the aluminium, oil and chemical industries netted him £3.2 billion in 2010, says the Sunday Times.

#6. Ernesto & Kirsty Bertarelli

Net Worth: £7.4Billion – As of April 2012
Source of Wealth: Pharmaceuticals

Ernesto Bertarelli has made his fortune from pharmaceuticals and biotechnology companies. His wife Kirsty Bertarelli, a former Miss UK, is officially the richest woman on this year’s Rich List. Their wealth grew by £530 million in 2011.

#7. Duke of Westminster

Net Worth: £7.3 Billion – As of April 2012
Source of Wealth: Property

The Duke of Westminster is the highest British-born billionaire on the Sunday Times list. His giant Grosvenor property group weathered the economic storm, with his empire once again rising in value by £350 million over the past year.

#8. David & Simon Reuben

Net Worth: £7 Billion – As of April 2012
Source of Wealth: Property, Internet

Brothers David and Simon Reuben have seen their combined fortune rise by £907 million in the past year. If that’s not enough, they’re planning on floating their company, Global Switch, which runs data centres across the world and is valued at over £4 billion.

They have been active in the British property market for 10 years and in June last year paid £130m for a 1.3-acre Mayfair estate. They also own properties including London’s iconic Millbank Tower a third of the UK’s racecourses and ‘London’ Oxford airport. They originally made their fortunes in the Russian aluminium industry.

9. John Fredriksen

Net Worth: £6.6 Billion – As of April 2012
Source of Wealth: Shipping, Oil services

John Fredriksen is Norway’s richest man. He built his fortune in the shipping industry and owns homes in London, Cyprus, Oslo and Marbella. He also has a stake in travel and shipping group TUI, which owns well-known travel brands including First Choice and Thomson. The family fortune has grown by a huge £400 million since the 2011 Rich List, which the Sunday Times attributes to shrewd investments in oil exploration and seafood companies.

#10. Galen & George Weston

Net Worth: £5.9 Billion – As of April 2012
Source of Wealth: Retailing

In 2010, the Westons jumped forty places up the Rich List after the wealth of two sides of their family was merged. The family has amassed their fortune in retail, including the Loblaw supermarket chain in Canada, and their UK interests include a stake in Primark owner Associated British Foods. They also own a 200-acre estate in Henley-on-Thames. The Westons’ wealth dropped by £100 million over the past year, according to the Sunday Times.

#11. Charlene & Michel de Carvalho

Net Worth: £5.4 Billion – As of April 2012
Source of Wealth: Inheritance, Brewing, Banking

Known as Britain’s ‘queen of brewing’, Charlene de Carvalho is the only child of the late Freddy Heineken. If that wasn’t enough, her banker husband Michel is vice-chairman of US banking firm Citigroup. The Sunday Times estimates that their joint fortune has grown by £90 million over the past year, as Heineken’s share price has increased.

#12. Hans Rausing & family

Net Worth: £4.3 Billion – As of April 2012
Source of Wealth: Packaging

Hans Rausing owes much of his wealth to packaging firm Tetra Laval, which was founded by his father. In 1995, he sold his stake in the firm to his brother Gad (father of Jorn and Kirsten) for an estimated £4.4 billion. His current investments include a stake in Ecoclean, an environmentally friendly packaging material.The Sunday Times estimates that this branch of the Rausing family’s fortune grew by £100 million in the past year.

#13. Joseph Lau

Net Worth: £4.1 Billion – As of April 2012
Source of Wealth: Property

In 2010, Joseph Lau was the highest new entrant in the Rich List. His business interests are based mostly in Hong Kong but he owns a house in London’s exclusive Eaton Square, bought for £33 million. According to the Sunday Times, Lau owns one of the world’s finest wine collections, with at least 10,000 bottles, and is an avid art collector. His various assets increased by £203 million over the past year.

#14. Nicky Oppenheimer

Net Worth: £4 Billion – As of April 2012
Source of Wealth: Mining, Diamonds

The grandson of the founder of mining behemoth Anglo American, which now owns the world famous De Beers diamond group, Oppenheimer has benefitted from a surge in the company’s share price. He sold £64 million of stock in the company in December 2010 and is estimated to have earned a massive £1.4 billion in 2010. His fortune grew by £1,150 million in the past year.

#15. Kirsten & Jorn Rausing

Net Worth: £3.9 Billion – As of April 2012
Source of Wealth: Inheritance, Investment

The Rausings’ late father Gad developed the Tetra Pak packaging system. Today, Jorn is based in Surrey and heads the mergers and acquisitions division of packaging firm Tetra Laval (which Tetra Pak became part of). His sister Kirsten is also on the board. Jorn also has a stake in online retailer Ocado, while Kirsten is a successful breeder of racehorses. In 2010, Tetra Laval has enjoyed strong growth in the Far East.

#16. Sir Richard Branson

Net Worth: £3.4 Billion – As of April 2012
Source of Wealth: Internet, Transport, Finance

Sir Richard’s well known for his diverse business ventures, but perhaps the most ambitious of all will soon take flight with the launch of Virgin Galactic. Nearly 500 people are paying $200,000 a head to travel on Virgin Galactic, the world’s first commercial spaceliner, with the inaugural flight due later this year or early in 2013. In the past 12 months his wealth has increased by £325 million.

#17= Sir Philip and Lady Green

Net Worth: £3.3 Billion – As of April 2012
Source of Wealth: Retailing

The Greens’ retail empire, which includes Topshop and Bhs, fortune dropped by £900m. Topshop has stores in the US and Australia, while China will soon get its first Topshop and Topman. Green’s daughter Chloe, 21, is about to launch a shoe collection.

#17= Laurence and Francois Graff

Net Worth: £3.3 Billion – As of April 2012
Source of Wealth: Diamonds

Graff Diamonds, retailer of some of the world’s most expensive jewellery, plans a stock market float in Hong Kong that will value the family-owned business at more than £3 billion. One of the highest gainers on the list, in the past 12 months their wealth has increased by £1.3 billion.

#19. Earl Cadogan and family

Net Worth: £3.2 Billion – As of April 2012
Source of Wealth: Property

This year marks the 300th anniversary of the purchase of the Cadogan estate by Sir Hans Sloane, whose collection of antiquities founded the British Museum. The estate, which includes 93 acres in Chelsea, is worth a record £3.4 billion. In 2011 its net assets after borrowings were £2.95 billion. The present earl, 75, has overseen a hefty investment programme.

#20. Sir Anthony Bamford and family

Net Worth: £3.1 Billion – As of April 2012
Source of Wealth: Construction equipment

JCB, the yellow-digger maker that is a bellwether for UK industry, saw profits surge by 51% to £355m on £2.75 billion sales in 2011. This was good news for the company and great news for the Bamford family, led by Sir Anthony, 66, as the Staffordshire business is now valued at £3,000m. Socially and politically, the JCB chairman and his wife are one of Britain’s most influential couples.