Sunday Times Rich List 2024: Significant drop in billionaires yet again

Anusha Singh Wednesday 22nd May 2024 07:28 EDT
 

This year’s Sunday Times Rich List, released on May 17,  includes notable figures like a Catholic priest, the King, the Prime Minister, and Britain's first billionaire musician. The 36th list features 350 individuals and families with a combined wealth of £795.361 billion.

For the second consecutive year, the number of billionaires has declined, dropping from 177, the highest peak recorded in 2022 to 165 this year. The list, edited by Robert Watts, highlights the largest drop in billionaires in the guide's 36-year history. Watts observed, "This year's edition records the largest fall in the billionaire count in the guide's 36-year history, from a peak of 177 in 2022 to 165 this year. It seems the tide is going out and the world's wealthy are starting to leave." However, it is notable that while the number of billionaires goes down, the wealth accumulated by them increases exponentially.

While twenty South Asians were featured on the list the previous year, there is a prominent increase in this year's Rich List, featuring thirty individuals. Gopi Hinduja and his family top the list for the third consecutive year, boasting an estimated record fortune of more than £37 billion.  This is a climb of £2.196bn from the previous year. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty climbed the ranks, moving from 275th last year to 245th this year. Known as the "wealthiest people to call 10 Downing Street home," their ascent is notable from £529m in 2023 to £651m this year.

Businessmen David and Simon Reuben, Indian-born brothers, rose to third place in 2024 from fourth in 2023, with an estimated wealth of around GBP 24.977 billion. Lakshmi N. Mittal slipped from sixth in 2023 to eighth in 2024 but remains in the top 10 with an estimated wealth of GBP 14.921 billion. He is followed by industrialist Anil Agarwal of Vedanta Resources, who dropped to  23 with an estimated GBP 7 billion.

Among the top 100 richest Britons are Indian-origin brothers Simon, Bobby, and Robin Arora at 65, NRI industrialist Lord Swraj Paul and family at  67, fashion industrialist Sunder Genomal at  77, and Jasminder Singh and family at  83.

One of the most important things to highlight is that while the number of South Asians on the list increases year after year, their presence on the Giving List 2024 remains absent. In comparison, Indian Americans are much more inclined towards donations, particularly in the areas of scholarships, research, and education overall.

40 richest people under 40 in the UK

This year’s 40 under 40 list showcases British talent from music, sports, entertainment, and business. Most individuals on the list amassed their fortunes independently, while nine inherited their wealth. The combined wealth of 36 out of the 40 entries totals £7.4 billion, whereas the four who benefited from inheritance contribute £13.3 billion. The top nine also appear in the main Rich List, which has an entry threshold of £350 million, compared to £56 million for the 40 under 40 list.

3. Herman Narula (£780 million)

Herman Narula founded Improbable Worlds in 2012 after studying at Cambridge. The London-based firm is developing a platform that enables 40,000 people to play in the same virtual space simultaneously. An investment round in late 2022 valued the company at $3.4 billion (£2.7 billion), with Delhi-born Narula owning at least 28.9% of the shares. He holds the largest self-made fortune on the list and is positioned at 214th on the Sunday Times Rich List 2024.

8. Ayman Rahman and Fateha Begum (£404 million)

After diving into global energy markets, Rahman, 33, and his 36-year-old wife, Fateha Begum, launched Dare International. Their firm employs 200 staff and manages trades worth billions of pounds daily. The couple has made their debut on the Sunday Times Rich List 2024 at the 324th position.

25= Vishal Karia (£116 million)

Sales at Karia’s perfume and cosmetics distribution company, Affinity, have exceeded £100 million in just seven years. Karia, 34, who was expelled from school and diagnosed with ADHD, now owns the majority of the Buckinghamshire-based £120 million wholesaler. Last year, he was ranked 19th on the Sunday Times 35 Richest People Under 35 list.


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