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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Luke O'Reilly

Rich List 2024: Who are the wealthiest people in the UK?

PA Archive

The billionaire Hinduja family has topped the Sunday Times Rich List for the third year in a row as its fortune jumped by more than £2 billion.

Gopi Hinduja and his family, which is behind the Indian conglomerate Hinduja Group, have been named as Britain’s richest once again.

The list saw a fall in the number of billionaires for the second year running from 171 to 165. The number of billionaires peaked at 177 in 2022.

Gopi Hinduja and his family, which is behind the Indian conglomerate Hinduja Group, have been named as Britain’s richest once again (PA) (PA Archive)

These are the 20 richest people and families in the UK, according to the Rich List:

1. Gopi Hinduja and family – £37.2 billion

Britain’s richest family made its fortune from the Mumbai-based conglomerate Hinduja Group, which spans business sectors including banking and finance, media and entertainment, and energy and has about 200,000 staff around the world.

The family’s fortune is the largest ever recorded in the list.

2. Sir Leonard Blavatnik – £29.25 billion

The second-richest Briton is a Ukrainian-born business magnate and philanthropist who built up his fortune in Russia.

He took Warner Music public in June 2020 after buying it in 2011.

3. David and Simon Reuben and family – £24.98 billion

The billionaire brothers made their money through property and technology with their private equity and investment business Reuben Brothers.

The brothers were born in Mumbai and raised in the UK.

4. Sir Jim Ratcliffe – £23.52 billion

Manchester United part-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe is the founder and chairman of global chemicals company Ineos, which was formed in 1998.

The Manchester-born businessman controls football operations at the club after acquiring a minority stake in February of this year.

He has dropped from second to fourth in the list after his wealth fell by more than £6 billion.

5. Sir James Dyson and family – £20.8 billion

English inventor and entrepreneur Sir James Dyson is well known for founding technology firm Dyson and inventing the cyclone bagless vacuum cleaner in the 1970s.

He has since moved into the beauty industry, with his line of hair tools proving particularly popular.

6. Barnaby and Merlin Swire and family – £17.2 billion

The Swire family’s fortune stems from Swire Group, a global business spanning property, transport and industrials.

Eton-educated chairman Barnaby Swire is the cousin of Merlin Swire, both sixth-generation descendants of the group’s founder.

7. Idan Ofer – £14.96 billion

Israeli billionaire businessman Idan Ofer is one of two sons of shipping magnate Sammy Ofer. His father, who died in 2011, was once Israel’s richest man.

He has interests in shipping, energy, and a minority stake in Spanish football club Atletico de Madrid.

8. Lakshmi Mittal and family – £14.92 billion

Indian-born Mr Mittal is the chairman of ArcelorMittal, a multinational steel company headquartered in Luxembourg and the largest steel manufacturer in Europe, North and South America.

He owns mansions on Kensington Palace Gardens, one of the most expensive streets in the world, and is a co-owner of Queen’s Park Rangers football club.

9. Guy, George, Alannah and Galen Weston and family – £14.49 billion

The Weston family has developed most of its wealth through investing in retail. It has a stake in Associated British Foods, which owns Primark and produces sugar, run by son George Weston.

10. John Fredriksen and family – £12.87 billion

John Fredriksen is a Norway-born shipping magnate who owns oil tankers and investments in fish farming, dry bulkers and deepwater drilling rigs.

11. Kirsten and Jorn Rausing – £12.63 billion

Kirsten Rausing also benefited from inheritance, with a stake in her grandfather’s packaging business Tetra Laval, which revolutionised storing drinks like milk and orange juice in cartons over glass bottles.

The Swedish businesswoman is heavily involved in horse racing and her husband Jorn Rausing co-owns Tetra Laval.

12. Alex Gerko – £12.05 billion

Moscow-born mathematician Alex Gerko founded algorithmic trading company XTX Markets in 2015, which grew rapidly in the UK and has offices globally, including in New York City, Paris and Mumbai.

13. Michael Platt – £12 billion

Preston-born financier Michael Platt is the co-founder and chief executive of hedge fund BlueCrestCapital Management, one of the world’s largest and top performing investment firms.

14. Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken and Michel de Carvalho – £11.75 billion

Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken is a Dutch businesswoman and one of the richest women in the world after inheriting nearly a quarter stake in beer giant Heineken from her late father Freddy Heineken.

Her husband and former Olympic skier Michel de Carvalho sits on the board of the business.

15. The Duke of Westminster and the Grosvenor family – £10.13 billion

The 33-year-old Hugh Grosvenor is the seventh Duke of Westminster and became an instant billionaire when he inherited his title and control of the historic Grosvenor Estate from his father in 2016.

He was crowned the richest person under 40 in this year’s Sunday Times Rich List.

16. Marit, Lisbet and Sigrid Rausing – £9.19 billion

Marit Rausing is the widow of Hans Ruasing, who built up the Tetra Pak packaging business founded by his father in 1944. Lisbet and Sigrid are their children.

17. Carrie and Francois Perrodo and family – £9.17 billion

Singapore-born Carrie Perrodo inherited one of the world’s largest family-owned oil companies, Perenco, after the death of her husband Hubert Perrodo in 2006.

Her son, amateur racing driver Francois Perrodo, is now the chairman of Perenco.

18. Nicky Oppenheimer and family – £7.94 billion

Nicky Oppenheimer sold his family’s stake in De Beers, the biggest diamond producer in the world, in 2012.

He was the third generation of the family to run De Beers, taking the company private in 2001.

19. Lord Bamford and family – £7.65 billion

Lord Bamford runs JCB, the multibillion-pound construction equipment manufacturer he took over from his father, Joseph Cyril Bamford, in the 1970s.

A major political donor, he is also the director of the Centre for Policy Studies think tank.

20. Denise, John and Peter Coates – £7.47 billion

Denise Coates is the co-founder, majority shareholder and co-chief executive of Bet365, one of the world’s largest online gambling companies, having been born into a family running betting shops in Stoke-on-Trent.

Peter Coates is her father and John Coates is her brother and joint-chief executive.

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