Gymshark, Castore, Lounge Underwear, Represent and Charlotte Tilbury head retailers in Sunday Times Rich List

Sanjay and Dheeraj Hinduja and their family are the richest people in the UK, according to this year’s edition of The Sunday Times Rich List, published today online at https://www.thetimes.com/sunday-times-rich-list and in the print edition of the newspaper on Sunday, May 17. The Hindujas’ wealth is put at £38 billion, up from £35.3 billion last year.

The 76-page special edition of The Sunday Times Magazine documents the changing fortunes of the UK’s 350 wealthiest individuals and families. Their combined wealth this year rises by 1.4 per cent to £784 billion — a sum larger than the annual GDP of Belgium ($776bn), Sweden ($760bn), and Israel ($719bn). It represents about a quarter of the UK total annual GDP.

There are now 157 UK billionaires, 20 less than four years ago. The minimum entry level dips to £340 million — another indicator of a subdued year.

Sir Elton John, Lord Lloyd-Webber, Sir Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, JK Rowling, Charlotte Tilbury, Sir Brian May and Sir Lewis Hamilton are among the household names who appear in the annual survey.

Robert Watts, compiler of the Sunday Times Rich List, said: “This year’s Rich List is a tale of two exoduses. One in six of the individuals and families who appeared on the list two years ago don’t feature this time.   

“Many foreign billionaires who have been living in the UK have also dropped out because they have moved away. We have also seen a sharp rise in the number of British nationals now resident in Dubai, Switzerland and Monaco. As UK nationals these people remain on our Rich List – wherever they now live.

“These two exoduses pose challenges for the UK economy and its public finances. Will more of the wealthy now set up or grow their ventures overseas and in doing so create fewer jobs here? How much tax – if any – will Rachel Reeves’ Treasury be able to extract from those affluent Brits who have now left the country.”

For the first two decades of this century the Rich List charted swelling fortunes. The closely-followed wealth rankings now suggest the UK has entered a new era, with fewer billionaires and flatlining fortunes.

Between 2000 and 2022 the overall wealth of our top 250 entries jumped by nearly 600 per cent — an average annual growth of almost 26 per cent. Between 2022 and 2026 this has stagnated, rising at an average annual rate of about 1 per cent.

After peaking at 177 in 2022, the billionaire count fell for three years running. This year’s tally of 157 is just one more than in 2025.

Watts added: “For nearly 40 years the Sunday Times Rich List has analysed the fortunes of Britain’s most affluent people. We believe understanding where wealth lies and where it is being accumulated is an important part of a functioning democracy. 

“Over the years our research has told us a lot about our country, charting the way a generation of largely self-made entrepreneurs overtook the old money of the landed gentry.

“This year’s edition shines a light on fortunes made from artificial intelligence, driverless cars and cryptocurrencies as well as baby milk, make-up, hoodies and other everyday items. We know many of our readers find those rags-to-riches stories of entrepreneurs who started out with little more than a laptop and an idea particularly inspiring.”

This year’s two biggest risers were both born in Moscow, five years apart:

• Nik Storonksy, co-founder of payments firm Revolut, has seen his wealth climb to £16.411 billion – average gains of £25.8 million a day since last year’s Rich List. The rise is explained by a fundraising valuing the London-based business at £55.6 billion.

• Alex Gerko, the mathematician who set up trading platform XTX, has a fortune now estimated at £16.006 billion. The increase in his wealth since the 2025 edition equates to  average daily gains of £19.9 million over the past 12 months.

Storonsky and Gerko have both publicly opposed Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, renounced their Russian citizenship and become UK nationals.

The biggest fallers on this year’s list include:

• Sir James Dyson. Donald Trump’s tariffs partly explain the lower revenues of the inventor’s electricals empire. Dyson’s fortune is put at £12 billion – down £8.8 billion.

• Sir Jim Ratcliffe. Rising debt, falling revenues and a £515.7 million loss has led the Rich List compilers to lower the value of his petrochemicals giant Ineos to £17 billion.

The Rich List continues to document fortunes made in diverse and often surprising ways, ranging from artificial intelligence and electric vehicles to running travel agents and selling scrap metal.

This year’s new entries include:

• Noel and Liam Gallagher amassed a £375 million fortune. The 41 shows between July and November last year took almost £400 million at the box office and provided the perfect warm-up act for a sale of the group’s song rights. The Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight is putting the final touches to a documentary of the reunion concerts.

• Emily Eavis’s father Sir Michael hosted his first music festival at Worthy Farm in 1970. Now the business is partly owned by family trusts, experts have suggested that the Glastonbury festival could be worth at least £400 million.

• Warren Stephens is the only new overseas billionaire (£2.444 billion). The US ambassador ran his family’s investment business and in 2015 banked $400 million from selling his newspaper group. A fan of Tottenham Hotspur FC and a serious art collector, he lives in Winfield House, his official London residence.

• Irishman Ross McMahon (£438 million) bought Heinz’s struggling baby milk factory for £1 in 2015. Now it’s the centerpiece of his £400 million infant nutrition brand.

Please ensure to cite The Sunday Times as the source of information in any digital coverage. The correct URL for hyperlinks will be https://www.thetimes.com/sunday-times-rich-list

THE SUNDAY TIMES RICH LIST 2026 – THE 20 WEALTHIEST UK BILLIONAIRES

Rise in wealth ▲ Fall in wealth ▼ No change ■ New entry ★ Re-entry ◆

For the full 350 richest people in the UK go online at www.thetimes.com/sunday-times-rich-list