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May 19, 2014

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Wealthiest in UK scale new heights with fortune

BRITAIN’S wealthiest people are richer than they have ever been, with a combined fortune of 518.9 billion pounds (US$874 billion) ­— equivalent to a third of the nation’s gross domestic product, according to an annual study.

The Sunday Times Rich List for 2014 shows that the 1,000 richest men and women have scaled new heights, with their combined wealth up 15.4 percent on last year’s total of 449.6 billion pounds.

They include TV chef Jamie Oliver, former Tesco supermarket boss Terry Leahy and, in the under-30s list, “Harry Potter” star Emma Watson.

“I’ve never seen such a phenomenal rise in personal wealth as the growth in the fortunes of Britain’s 1,000 richest people over the past year,” said Philip Beresford, who has compiled the list since 1989.

“The richest people in Britain have never had it so good,” he said. “The challenge now for the government and the rich themselves is to see this wealth percolate downwards and outwards, out of London and towards the north and west of the country.”

The enormous wealth of those on the list contrasts sharply with the stretched finances of ordinary Britons, many of whom are struggling to cope with the effects of five years of austerity.

Last week, the first part of the Rich List found the number of billionaires in Britain had risen to more than 100 for the first time, with Indian-born brothers Sri and Gopi Hinduja the country’s wealthiest with 11.9 billion pounds.

They replaced Russian tycoon Alisher Usmanov at the top after the Arsenal football club shareholder dropped a place as his fortune fell to 10.65 billion pounds.

Only three of the top 20 are British, with David and Frederick Barclay, the publishers and property developers, the only self-made billionaires in this group.


 

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