Gymshark founder, Ben Francis, ranked fourth in The Sunday Times 35 under 35 Rich List

Harry Kane, Harry Styles, Dua Lipa and the Duke of Westminster all feature in the new edition of The Sunday Times 35 under 35 Rich List, published today online at https://www.thetimes.co.uk/sunday-times-rich-list and in the print edition of the newspaper on Sunday, May 21.

The 68-page special edition of The Sunday Times Magazine reveals the wealth of the 350 richest people in Britain in its 35^th annual edition. There are 171 billionaires in the UK recorded this year, down 6 from 2022, the first fall for 14 years. The combined wealth of the UK billionaires is £683.856 billion, up £30.734 billion, or 4.5 per cent, on the total wealth of the billionaires in last year’s Rich List.

Today’s young rich list is led by the Duke of Westminster, who inherited his title and a vast land and property portfolio when he was 25 – including 300 acres of Mayfair and Belgravia. Now 32, he oversees the dynasty’s company portfolio, which has real estate in 43 cities across ten countries. His, and his family’s, total wealth is estimated at £9.878 billion. Under his leadership he has recently launched Grosvenor Hart Homes to provide more affordable homes and promised that all Grosvenor businesses will reduce carbon emissions in line with limiting global warming to 1.5°C.

Other trends highlighted in the list are self-made stars who have all taken advantage of social media and the new age of Instagram to market directly to their peers.

These include companies such as sports clothing brand Gymshark, through which Ben Francis has built a £900 million fortune in just over a decade. Also strutting their stuff are athleisure and fashion brands such as Dan and Melanie Marsden’s Lounge Underwear, AYBL run by Reiss and Kris Edgerton, and Manière De Voir founded by former U20 England footballer Reece Wabara.

Gen Z’s appetite for gaming, and a generation’s coding expertise has boosted the fortunes of Johnny Boufahrat, Christian Owens, Christian Facey, Daniel Knight, all of whom make the list with tech companies they have founded.

Robert Watts, compiler of The Sunday Times Rich List, said: “Despite the tougher business environment, we have many impressive entrepreneurial stories in this year’s Sunday Times Rich List. We know our readers are particularly fascinated by those from humble backgrounds who start their own businesses, work hard and go on to build profitable businesses.”

“Our new 35 Under 35 list includes men and women who have quickly built fortunes from fashion, vodka, lingerie and perfume. Many of these young guns are already employing hundreds of people and some will go on to be the future of the British economy.”

Many of those who feature on the list – including Ben Francis, Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling – have offered tips on how to be successful. Several of those to do so emphasise the importance of giving back and supporting others trying to get on.

Analysis of the 35 Under 35 list reveals the following:

• The majority made millions on their own, but nine were born into money.
• Those who inherited wealth are worth much more. So, 33 out of 35 individuals on this list built their fortunes themselves, a combined total of £5.8 billion; the other five, who owe at least some of their wealth to inheritance, account for £13.1 billion.
• Four of the 35 Under 35 were born outside the UK, the others mostly come from London or Worcestershire.
• About half attended state schools, and at least a third didn’t go on to further education.
• Five were friends at the same school, South Bromsgrove High School.

THE SUNDAY TIMES RICH LIST 2023: THE WEALTHIEST 35 UNDER 35 IN UK