UK's 1,000 richest get richer
The collective wealth of Britain's 1,000 richest people increased by almost 15 percent last year, to 413 billion pounds ($819 billion), according to a list published by the Sunday Times newspaper.
The newspaper's annual Rich List ranked steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal as Britain's wealthiest man for the fourth year running. It put the Indian-born tycoon's fortune at 27.7 billion pounds ($55 billion), up more than 8 billion pounds from last year.
Russian oil magnate Roman Abramovich, owner of London's Chelsea soccer team, was in second place, with wealth of 11.7 billion pounds ($23.2 billion).
The Duke of Westminster was in third place with 7 billion pounds ($14 billion). He owns huge parcels of land in central London and elsewhere.
Indian-born industrialists Ari and Gopi Hinduja were in fourth place with wealth of 6.2 billion pounds ($12.4 billion). Russian steel and mining magnate Alisher Usmanov was ranked fifth with wealth of 5.7 billion pounds ($11.4 billion).
The newspaper said more than half of Britain's 75 billionaires, and 14 of the 20 richest people, were foreign-born.
Queen Elizabeth II - the country's richest person when the Rich List was first published in 1989 - now ranks 264th, with a personal wealth of 320 million pounds ($640). The estimate no longer includes the vast royal art collection, which is now considered to belong to the nation.
Philip Beresford, who compiled the list, said "much of the rise in this year's wealth can be attributed to one factor - the number of foreign rich who have made London or its environs the main home and base of operation."
He said the 11 years since the ostensibly leftist Labour Party was elected to power in 1997 had seen "a boon for the superrich, rarely seen before in modern British history."
There are signs, however, that the credit crunch and an economic slowdown is taking its toll. Islamic art and property mogul David Khalili saw his fortune slashed 3.3 billion pounds $6.6 billion) to 2.5 billion ($5 billion) and the worth of fashion retailer Philip Green dropped 570 million pounds ($1.14 billion) to 4.3 billion ($860 million).
The Sunday Times said 762 of the richest 1,000 people were self-made millionaires with land and property being the largest single source of their wealth.
Harry Potter creator JK Rowling's fortune was put at 560 million pounds ($1.12 billion) after 545 million pounds ($1.09 billion) a year ago, making her yet again Britain's richest author.
The newspaper put ex-Beatle Paul McCartney's wealth at 500 million pounds, ($1 billion) close to the 400 million ($800 million) calculated by the judge in his acrimonious divorce this year from Heather Mills, but well short of the 800 million pounds she said he was worth.
Agencies
(China Daily 04/28/2008 page6)
