There are now more billionaires living in the UK than ever before despite fears over Brexit, the Sunday Times Rich List has revealed. This year’s list found the richest 1,000 people and families have a record total wealth of £658 billion, a rise of 14 per cent on last year’s £575 billion figure, Evening Standard reports.
The wealthiest people in the UK are elderly brothers Sri and Gopi Hinduja, whose latest project is to convert the Old War Office in London into a luxury five-star hotel and 88 luxury apartments for the super-rich.
Ukrainian businessman Len Blavatnik, whose empire includes the Warner Music Group, is in second place on the list with a fortune of £15.982 billion.
Siblings David and Simon Reuben, 78 and 76 respectively, topped the Rich List in 2016, and rank third this year despite a £900 million rise in their wealth in the past 12 months.
Lakshmi Mittal and family are fourth and boast the biggest increase in wealth within the past 12 months, having added more than £6 billion to their £13.229 billion fortune, one of the highest annual rises to date.
Taking fifth position is Russia's Alisher Usmanov, 63, who has a 30 per cent stake in football club Arsenal, with a fortune of £11.791bn. He grew rich through steel and iron ore mine, with his numerous assets including shares in Spotify and Airbnb.
