London (AFP) – Pop star Dua Lipa, at 29 years old, is the youngest person featured on The Sunday Times’ annual list of Britain’s wealthiest people under 40, the publication announced Friday. With an estimated fortune of £115 million ($153 million), the Anglo-Albanian singer, whose album “Radical Optimism” topped the British charts, ranks 34th in the 40 Under 40 category.
The Sunday Times Rich List, in its 37th year, includes also people who are not British citizens but who live and work in the UK. Others to feature in the 40 Under 40 list are “Harry Potter” actor Daniel Radcliffe and England footballer Harry Kane on £100 million each, just behind retired tennis player Andy Murray. Singer Adele’s fortune is estimated to be worth £170 million, while peers Harry Styles has £225 million and Ed Sheeran £370 million.
The overall Rich List is dominated by entrepreneurs, financiers, and property owners. Gopi Hinduja and his family, who are behind the Indian conglomerate Hinduja Group, retained the title of Britain’s richest, despite their wealth dropping to £35.3 billion from £37.2 billion.
The Sunday Times noted that the number of billionaires in the UK has fallen to 156 from 165, the biggest drop in the list’s history. The Labour government is tightening a loophole that allows people with “non-dom” status, those who live in Britain but whose permanent domicile is abroad, to avoid UK tax on income earned outside the country. “Our billionaire count is down and the combined wealth of those who feature in our research is falling,” said Robert Watts, compiler of the Rich List. “We are also finding fewer of the world’s super rich are coming to live in the UK.”
Also to feature on this year’s list is Jim Ratcliffe, founder of petrochemicals group Ineos and minority owner of Manchester United football club. He remains in the top ten with £17 billion, though his fortune has slumped around £6 billion in the past year owing to struggles at his company. Paul McCartney is the sole billionaire musician in 151st place. Elton John is worth £475 million, about 35 million more than Mick Jagger and Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones.
King Charles III’s fortune reached £640 million, placing him in 238th place, tied with Britain’s former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty, who has benefited from Infosys, the tech giant founded by her father. The combined wealth of the 350 entries stands at £772.8 billion — down three percent on 2024. The list takes into account “identifiable wealth — such as land, property, racehorses, art or significant shares in publicly quoted companies,” the paper noted. It excludes private bank accounts, which means an individual’s wealth “may be much larger” than stated, it added.
© 2024 AFP
