Getty ImagesThe number of UK billionaires has fallen while King Charles’ personal wealth has jumped to equal former prime minister Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty, according to the latest Sunday Times Rich List.
The annual list of the UK’s 350 richest people revealed the biggest decline in billionaires in the paper’s history.
Meanwhile in the past year, the King’s wealth has grown by £30m to £640m, increasing his rank 20 places to 258 with Sunak and Murty.
Topping the list for the fourth consecutive year is the Hinduja family behind the Indian corporation Hinduja Group, which, despite a decline in fortune, is recorded to be worth more than £35bn.
The continued slump of the number of billionaires for the third year running, from 165 to 156, comes after criticism on tax changes by the new Labour government.
The number of billionaires slid to 156 this year from 165 in 2024, representing the sharpest decline in the Sunday Times Rich List’s 37-year-history.
“Our billionaire count is down and the combined wealth of those who feature in our research is falling,” Robert Watts, compiler of the Rich List told PA Media.
“We are also finding fewer of the world’s super rich are coming to live in the UK.”
He said he was “struck by the strength of criticism for Rachel Reeves’s Treasury” when speaking to wealthy individuals for the publication.
Mr Watts said: “We expected the abolition of non-dom status would anger affluent people from overseas.
“But homegrown young tech entrepreneurs and those running centuries-old family firms are also warning of serious consequences to a range of tax changes unveiled in last October’s budget.”
The Labour government abolished the non-dom tax status in April, which is where UK residents whose permanent home or domicile for tax purposes is outside the UK.
Last year, former Conservative chancellor Jeremy Hunt revealed plans to scrap the tax status before successor Rachel Reeves sped up the process.
Who are the richest people in the UK?
1. Gopi Hinduja and family (£35.3bn, down £37.2bn)
2. David and Simon Reuben and family (£26.87bn)
3. Sir Leonard Blavatnik (£25.73bn)
4. Sir James Dyson and family (£20.8bn)
5. Idan Ofer (£20.12bn)
The King’s rise in wealth has also made him richer than his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
The new figures estimate Charles to be worth £270m more than his mother, with the majority of his fortune benefiting from the investment portfolio he inherited from her.
The late Queen was said to be worth £370m in 2022 compared to Charles’ current fortune of £640m.
Coming in second after the Hinduja family, at almost £27bn, were the Reuben brothers, who made their fortune through property and technology.
A close third was Sir Leonard Blavatnik, a Ukrainian born British-American businessman who built up a sizeable net worth of almost £26bn.
Among other notable figures to make the list were Formula One champion Sir Lewis Hamilton, David and Victoria Beckham, Sir Elton John and Manchester United part-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
And pop star Dua Lipa, 29, is the youngest person to feature on this year’s list. She comes in at 34 on the list with an estimated wealth of £115m.
