Sunday Times Rich List: Russians on top
Lakshmi Mittal, who for eight years has topped the Sunday Times Rich List, loses his place to Alisher Usmanov – as Russians top three of the top five places.
The list, published on Sunday, has once again recorded an increase in wealth for Britain’s richest people. Last year the top 1,000 richest people in the UK had an estimated wealth of £414bn – the 2013 list will say that this has increased to almost £450bn.
Research by the Resolution Foundation in February revealed that the super-rich – the top 1 per cent of UK earners – receive 10 per cent of income paid in the UK, but the poorest 50 percent of the population receives just 18 per cent.
So who are the Sunday Times Rich List’s top ten?
Alisher Usmanov – £13.3bn
The 59-year-old has a near 30 per cent stake in Arsenal football club. his business empire, which has its beginnings in making plastic bags, cover Metalloinvest – Russia’s biggest producer of iron ore, a stake in mail.ru – Russia’s largest internet company, and a major holding in Megafon – a mobile phone operator listed on the London and Moscow stock exchanges.
Mr Usmanov owns Sutton Place, the former Surrey home of the late oil baron J Paul Getty, and a £48m mansion in north London.
Len Blavatnik – £11bn
The Russian-born, American businessman owns Warner Music and received £2bn last month for his stake in TNK-BP. His investment vehicle, Access Industries, has stakes in many other businesses,including Top Up TV and Ican.
He divides time between his home in New York and his house in London’s exclusive Kensington Palace Gardens.
Sri and Gopi Hinduja – £10.6bn
The Hinduja brothers, who moved to London in 1979 to expand their father’s export business, have seen their wealth increase by £2bn to £10.6bn.
They are co-chairmen of the Hinduja Group, a conglomerate which spans oil, defence, finance, IT and medical research. The Pakistan-born brothers are two out of four brothers.
In 2001 Peter Mandelson resigned from the Cabinet over the cash-for-passports scandal involving the Hinduja brothers.
Lakshmi Mittal and family – £10bn
Mr Mittal has lost the most significant amount of wealth over the past year, according to the list. The steel magnate, who funded the ArcelorMittal Orbit at the Olympic Park, has seen his wealth fall by £2.7bn – and in doing so he has lost the top spot on the list after eight years at number one. The list references the fall in value of Mr Mittal’s 40 per cent stake in ArcelorMittal – which has fallen from a peak of £28bn to £5.95bn.
Roman Abramovich – £9.3bn
The Chelsea football club owner is the third Russian in the Sunday Times Rich List top five. The tycoon has made his wealth in oil and private investment.
During the year he was successful in a legal claim brought against him by now-deceased Russian businessman Boris Berezovsky. Mr Abramovich likes to spend his money on works of art, and owns one of the world’s largest yachts.
John Fredriksen and family – £8.8bn
The shipping magnate and his family have risen three places up the list, and are reported to have increased their wealth over the year by £2.2bn.
The Norwegian born son of a welder started trading oil in Beirut in the 1960s, before buying his first tankers in the 1970s. He is also involved in deepwater drilling through his business Seadrill.
He gave up his Norwegian citizenship for the tax haven Cyprus, and runs his business from a mansion in London.
David and Simon Reuben – £8.28bn
The London-based brothers are two of the most respected property dealers in the UK, and have also made their wealth through private investment and metals.
The pair own Millbank tower on the Thames, as well as stakes in pub companies, hotel chains, banking chains and horse-racing tracks.
The Duke of Westminster – £7.8bn
Gerald Grosvenor is the highest place British-born member of the rich list, with his wealth coming from his property company, Grosvenor.
Grosvenor owns £5.8bn of properties across the world, largely focused in London, but also including the £1bn Liverpool One regeneration scheme.
The Duke’s wealth has risen, according to the list, by £450m over the year.
Ernesto and Kirsty Bertarelli – £7.4bn
Italian-born Swiss businessman Ernesto Bertarelli and his UK-born wife Kirsty made their wealth from Serono, a pharmaceutical company founded by Ernesto’s grandfather. The company was sold in 2006 for £8.7bn.
Mr Bertarelli’s current business interests include Kedge Capital – an investment management group, Ares Life Sciences – which invests in healthcare and pharmaceuticals, and asset management business Northill Capital.
Charlene and Michel de Carvalho – £7bn
Charlene de Carvalho, nee Heineken, owns the controlling interest in the world’s third largest brewer, Heineken International. Her husband Michel is currently chairman of Citi Private Bank’s business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and is a former Winter Olympian and movie star.