Defying recession, Britain’s super-rich continued to see their wealth rise with Indian-origin steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal once again topping the Sunday Times Rich List for 2010.
Mittal topped the list for the sixth consecutive year with a worth of 22.45 billion pound.
Among the top 10, Indian-born mining magnate Anil Agarwal moved 60 places up to 10th position, thanks to rising share prices of mining group Vedanta Resources. His wealth jumped from 600 million pound to 4.1 billion pound.
Many entrepreneurs, including Mittal, were hit by the economic downturn in 2009 but the collective fortunes of the top 1,000 on the list have risen by 30 per cent in the past year to 333.5 billion pound.
In the top 1,000, the number of billionaires rose from 10 to 53 in 2010.
Mittal, who owns steel major ArcelorMittal, saw his fortune double from 10.8 billion to 22.45 billion pound, while Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich remains at second place at 7.4 billion pound.
“Fortunes in Britain are soaring as the world recovers from the 2008—09 crash. Stock markets are up, the banks are back from the brink and economic confidence is blossoming,” said Philip Beresford, compiler of the list.
As a result, the collective wealth of the 1,000 multimillionaires in the 2010 Sunday Times Rich List has climbed to 335.5 billion pound, up 77.265 billion pound on 2009, he said, adding this is a 29.9 per cent increase, easily the biggest annual rise in the 22 years of the Rich List.
The Duke of Westminster’s wealth rose by 250 million pound to 6.75 billion pound and was placed in the third place.
Queen Elizabeth, who is Britain’s 245th richest person, saw her personal fortune rise by 20 million to 290 million pound.
Harry Potter film star Daniel Radcliffe, 20, is the highest-earning young actor with riches worth 42 million pound.
The Sunday Times Rich List profiles the 1,000 wealthiest people in the UK and the 250 richest people in Ireland.
