Tech tycoon Sir James Dyson and his family are the wealthiest people in the West of England despite experiencing losses of £2.2bn over the last year, the latest Sunday Times Rich List has revealed.
Britain’s best-known inventor, who has just launched a £600 electric mop, has a fortune of £20.8²ú²Ô - down from £23bn in 2023. Mr Dyson, who is famed for products including his high-tech vacuum cleaner, has established a university and pledged £35m to his alma mater Gresham's School.
His company, which employs thousands of people at its base in Malmesbury, Wiltshire, unveiled a new £100m technology centre in Bristol last year. He was fifth on the .
Meanwhile, the owners of The Range, Chris and Sarah Dawson, soared 15 places on the rich list to place 70th nationally and second in the South West. Their wealth increased by £475m to £2.5²ú²Ô, with the market-trader-turned-retail-tycoon paying his wife a £141m dividend this year, the Sunday Times said.
Peter Hargreaves, co-founder of Bristol-based Hargreaves Lansdown, saw his wealth fall by £22m to £1.843²ú²Ô. He ranked third in the South West region for 2024.
The 76-page special edition of The Sunday Times Magazine reveals the largest fall in the billionaire count in the guide’s 36-year history, from a peak of 177 in 2022 to 165 this year. This year’s list of 350 individuals and families together hold combined wealth of £795.361bn — a sum larger than the annual GDP of Poland.
Sir Elton John, Lord Lloyd-Webber and David and Victoria Beckham all appear in the annual survey. The minimum entry for the list of 350 this year is £350m.
Robert Watts, compiler of the Sunday Times Rich List, said the guide suggested Britain’s billionaire boom had come to an end.
"Many of our home-grown entrepreneurs have seen their fortunes fall and some of the global super rich who came here are moving away," he said. "Thousands of British livelihoods rely on the super-rich to some extent. We’ll have to wait and see whether we have now reached peak billionaire, and what that means for our economy."
This year’s new entries include people who have made money from artificial intelligence and virtual worlds as well as plumbing supplies and teaching aides.
Richest people in the South West in 2024
Rank | Name | Source of Wealth | 2024 Wealth | Rise/Fall |
1 | Sir James Dyson and family | Household goods and technology: Dyson | £20.8²ú²Ô | Down £2.2bn |
2 | Chris and Sarah Dawson | Retail: The Range | £2.5²ú²Ô | Up £475m |
3 | Peter Hargreaves | Finance: Hargreaves Lansdown | £1.843²ú²Ô | Down £22m |
4 | Sir David McMurtry | Engineering: Renishaw | £1.252²ú²Ô | Up £128m |
5 | Steve Lansdown | Finance: Hargreaves Lansdown | £1.168²ú²Ô | Down £11m |
The Sunday Times Rich List is and in the print edition of the newspaper on Sunday, May 19.
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