Forget all the talk of the Brexit impact or economic uncertainty. If you're at the top of the wealth pile things are going pretty well.
The richest people in our region have increased their combined fortunes and are heading towards the £28 billion mark according to the 2018 Birmingham Post Rich List.
And there are a record eight billionaires in this year's list. There's winners and losers of course, but those involved in construction, property and manufacturing have all seen an increase in their wealth over the last year, or at the very least they have protected their position.
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Among the biggest winners are property-to-motors magnate Lord Bob Edmiston and Richard Harpin whose Walsall-based Homeserve household insurance business is taking America by storm.
Retail is struggling nationwide as life on the high street gets tougher and the online/offline battle between bricks and clicks continues.
However, the entrepreneurship of Midlands people and the hard work and determination of those who were born here or have chosen to make our region their home or commercial base have combined to ensure that the money keeps rolling in for the wealthiest individuals and families.
For many on our list, life has been a story of risk-taking and a desire to better themselves. Many came from a humble background, but have used their talents, combined with hard work, to join the exclusive club of multi-millionaires.
Very few in our league table of the 50 super-rich has inherited their fortune through ancestral accident. This list is a story of entrepreneurs who, through extraordinary talent, a great idea, or hard work have reaped the reward of enviable wealth.
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Another striking feature which crops up year after year is philanthropy, with most on our list giving generously to charities and good causes, much of it locally.
The amassed fortunes of our richest 50 add to up to a remarkable total of £27.513 billion, which is an increase on last year of more than £2.5 billion.
This year's Birmingham Post Rich List continues to have a distinctly oriental feel, although a changing attitude by the Chinese government to investment outside of China has taken the edge off some company values. Nonetheless the influx of Chinese investment into the region's four major football clubs is reflected in our 2018 roll call of the Midlands' wealthy.
There's no change at number one. Guo Guanchang, boss of the massive Fosun International Group and new owner of Wolves tops the list with a fortune of £4.0 billion - a shade down on last year.
A second Chinese billionaire, Guochuan Lai, remains in third place after his takeover of West Bromwich Albion. Aston Villa's owner, Dr Tony Xia of the Recon Group is at number seven - also a billionaire - and Birmingham City's long running ownership saga came to an end with an agreement with Hong Kong-based Trillion Trophy Asia, and Trillion's owner Paul Suen Cho Hung is listed at 17.
The Birmingham Post Rich List is geographically focussed on the West Midlands, concentrating on the area covered by our three Local Enterprise Partnerships: the Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP which also covers a large part of Staffordshire and parts of Worcestershire, the Black Country LEP and the Coventry and Warwickshire LEP.
The 50 multi-millionaires on our 2018 list all either live, work or make a significant economic or cultural contribution to the areas covered by these three LEPs. We continue to put an emphasis on fortunes that are used to benefit or enrich the West Midlands and its immediate area.
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We have eight billionaires in the region including the oldest person on our list – 98 year-old air-conditioning billionaire Jacques Gaston Murray who still plays an active role in his companies.
Lord Bamford and John Bloor continue their success, while Lord Edmiston of IM Group joins the billionaires club. Phones4U tycoon John Caudwell returns to our list this year.
He was excluded when we changed the geographical boundaries, but since he is Birmingham-born he returns to the fold.
The entry price for making the list has also risen this year. You’ll need a personal fortune of at least £100 million to qualify for a place, beating last year's total of £85 million.
Once again we have some new faces in the list, including Dean Hoyle, the owner of the Hams Hall-based stationery supplier The Works, Julia and Guy Hands who own three of the region's most prestigious hotels, Chris and Michael Miller whose Meriden-based Harris & Sheldon group owns some of the 海角视频's finest salmon fishing beats, Simon and Yu-Lin Wilson who have turned a slot machine manufacturer into a major mobile phone gaming platform, and Steve and Sarah Bennett who own Redditch-based jewellery home shopping channel and internet operation Gemporia.
A brief word about the rules of engagement for the 2018 Birmingham Post Rich List: In assessing who goes into the list and who stays out there is inevitably some subjectivity involved, and we can only work from publicly available information.
We have no idea how much is stuffed under mattresses or in hidden bank accounts.
We looked at the personal wealth, property interests, shareholdings, company valuations, asset valuations, liabilities, and other known wealth of people who either live and/or work in the areas covered by the three Local Enterprise Partnerships in our region, or were brought up here, or who have significant business interests here.
We took longevity and commitment to the economic wealth of the region into account.