Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty's personal fortune has increased by more than £120million over the past year.
The couple overtook King Charles as their wealth jumped from £529million last year to £651million. Their fortune is driven largely by Ms Murty's stake in Infosys. an Indian IT company her father founded. They are the wealthiest inhabitants of No10 in history and the PM is richer than King Charles.
The new figures also reveal how Paul McCartney has become a billionaire Beatle after seeing his wealth grow another £50milion in the past year after touring and the lucrative value of his back catalogue, along with covers by Beyoncé.
According to the Sunday Times Rich List, Sir Paul has become the first UK musician to achieve billionaire status.
Yet even with a fortune of that size, 81-year-old ex-Beatles is only 165th on the latest ranking of Britain’s super-wealthy. That said, he is estimated to be worth double fellow megastar Sir Elton John, whose wealth is estimated, at £470million, and is 291st on the list.
And it makes Sir Paul, who grew up in a post-war terraced house in Allerton in south Liverpool, worth considerably more than the King Charles. The Rich List estimates the King is worth £610million - putting him in 258th place - and up from £600million in 2023.
Yet the monarch is towards the bottom of the 300 richest people in Britain included in this year’s ranking. At the top is Indian-born British businessman Gopi Hinduja and his family, with a wealth is put at almost £37.2billion, up from £35billion last year and the largest fortune ever recorded in the history of the Rich List.
Chemicals magnate Sir Jim Ratcliffe, second on last year’s list, has fallen to fourth, with a fortune £23.5billion. It comes after he bought a stake in Manchester United.
Tory Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and wife Akshata Murty are said to be worth £651million, putting them 245st on the list. The Prime Minister and his super-rich wife saw their wealth increase by £122million, from £529million in 2023. Their joint fortune is driven largely by Ms Murty's stake in Infosys. an Indian IT company her father founded.
The couple are the 245th richest people in the whole of Britain, according to the Sunday Times Rich List 2024, which orders Britain's 350 wealthiest people. It is an increase from 275th last year. They are the wealthiest couple to ever enter No10.
David and Victoria Beckham, in comparison, have amassed a fortune that grew another £30million to £455million, the latest report says.
The research also 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.
Robert Watts, compiler of the Sunday Times Rich List, says it suggests “Britain’s billionaire boom has 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.”
Virgin tycoon Sir Richard Branson, who lives on the private Caribbean island of Necker, is nevertheless on the list. His wealth has fallen to an estimated £2.4billion, or back to what he was worth in 2000.
That said, he could net upwards of £650m from the proposed sale of lender Virgin Money to the Nationwide building society. Also released is The Sunday Times 40 under 40 Rich List, featuring the likes of singers Adele and Dua Lipa and England football captain Harry Kane.
Topping the list is the soon-to-be-married Duke of Westminster, who inherited his title and a vast land and property portfolio aged 25. His family’s wealth is estimated at more than £10billion. Now 33, he oversees the dynasty’s company portfolio in 12 countries.
He will marry Olivia Henson, 31, next month and the Prince of Wales will be a guest of honour at the ceremony at Chester Cathedral. Fifth on the list is Gymshark tycoon Ben Francis (£725million).
Back to music and Harry Styles has amassed a £175m packet, just ahead of Adele on £170m and almost double Dua Lipa’s £90m. In the world of sport, love split golfer Rory McIlroy is worth £225m, F1 ace Lewis Hamilton ninth (£350m), and ex-Spurs striker Harry Kane £75m.
Top 20 overall from Sunday Times Rich List 2024
1. Gopi Hinduja and family - £37.2 billion
Britain's richest family made its fortune from the Mumbai-based conglomerate Hinduja Group, which spans business sectors including banking and finance, media and entertainment, and energy and has about 200,000 staff around the world. The family's fortune is the largest ever recorded in the list.
2. Sir Leonard Blavatnik - £29.25 billion
The second-richest Briton is a Ukrainian-born business magnate and philanthropist who built up his fortune in Russia. He took Warner Music public in June 2020 after buying it in 2011.
3. David and Simon Reuben and family - £24.98 billion
The billionaire brothers made their money through property and technology with their private equity and investment business Reuben Brothers. The brothers were born in Mumbai and raised in the UK.
4. Sir Jim Ratcliffe - £23.52 billion
Manchester United part-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe is the founder and chairman of global chemicals company Ineos, which was formed in 1998. The Manchester-born businessman controls football operations at the club after acquiring a minority stake in February of this year. He has dropped from second to fourth in the list after his wealth fell by more than £6 billion.
5. Sir James Dyson and family - £20.8 billion
English inventor and entrepreneur Sir James Dyson is well known for founding technology firm Dyson and inventing the cyclone bagless vacuum cleaner in the 1970s. He has since moved into the beauty industry, with his line of hair tools proving particularly popular.
6. Idan Ofer - £14.96 billion
Israeli billionaire businessman Idan Ofer is one of two sons of shipping magnate Sammy Ofer. His father, who died in 2011, was once Israel's richest man. He has interests in shipping, energy, and a minority stake in Spanish football club Atletico de Madrid.
7. Lakshmi Mittal and family - £14.92 billion
Indian-born Mr Mittal is the chairman of ArcelorMittal, a multinational steel company headquartered in Luxembourg and the largest steel manufacturer in Europe, North and South America. He owns mansions on Kensington Palace Gardens, one of the most expensive streets in the world, and is a co-owner of Queen's Park Rangers football club.
8. Guy, George, Alannah and Galen Weston and family - £14.49 billion
The Weston family has developed most of its wealth through investing in retail. It has a stake in Associated British Foods, which owns Primark and produces sugar, run by son George Weston.
9. John Fredriksen and family - £12.87 billion
John Fredriksen is a Norway-born shipping magnate who owns oil tankers and investments in fish farming, dry bulkers and deepwater drilling rigs.
10. Kirsten and Jorn Rausing - £12.63 billion
Kirsten Rausing also benefited from inheritance, with a stake in her grandfather's packaging business Tetra Laval, which revolutionised storing drinks like milk and orange juice in cartons over glass bottles.
The Swedish businesswoman is heavily involved in horse racing and her husband Jorn Rausing co-owns Tetra Laval.
11. Alex Gerko - £12.05 billion
Moscow-born mathematician Alex Gerko founded algorithmic trading company XTX Markets in 2015, which grew rapidly in the UK and has offices globally, including in New York City, Paris and Mumbai.
12. Michael Platt - £12 billion
Preston-born financier Michael Platt is the co-founder and chief executive of hedge fund BlueCrestCapital Management, one of the world's largest and top performing investment firms.
13. Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken and Michel de Carvalho - £11.75 billion
Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken is a Dutch businesswoman and one of the richest women in the world after inheriting nearly a quarter stake in beer giant Heineken from her late father Freddy Heineken.
Her husband and former Olympic skier Michel de Carvalho sits on the board of the business.
14. The Duke of Westminster and the Grosvenor family - £10.13 billion
The 33-year-old Hugh Grosvenor is the seventh Duke of Westminster and became an instant billionaire when he inherited his title and control of the historic Grosvenor Estate from his father in 2016.
He was crowned the richest person under 40 in this year's Sunday Times Rich List.
15. Barnaby and Merlin Swire and family - £9.9 billion
The Swire family's fortune stems from Swire Group, a global business spanning property, transport and industrials. Eton-educated chairman Barnaby Swire is the cousin of Merlin Swire, both sixth-generation descendants of the group's founder.
16. Marit, Lisbet and Sigrid Rausing - £9.19 billion
Marit Rausing is the widow of Hans Ruasing, who built up the Tetra Pak packaging business founded by his father in 1944. Lisbet and Sigrid are their children.
17. Carrie and Francois Perrodo and family - £9.17 billion
Singapore-born Carrie Perrodo inherited one of the world's largest family-owned oil companies, Perenco, after the death of her husband Hubert Perrodo in 2006. Her son, amateur racing driver Francois Perrodo, is now the chairman of Perenco.
18. Nicky Oppenheimer and family - £7.94 billion Nicky Oppenheimer sold his family's stake in De Beers, the biggest diamond producer in the world, in 2012. He was the third generation of the family to run De Beers, taking the company private in 2001.
19. Lord Bamford and family - £7.65 billion
Lord Bamford runs JCB, the multibillion-pound construction equipment manufacturer he took over from his father, Joseph Cyril Bamford, in the 1970s. A major political donor, he is also the director of the Centre for Policy Studies think tank.
20. Denise, John and Peter Coates - £7.47 billion
Denise Coates is the co-founder, majority shareholder and co-chief executive of Bet365, one of the world's largest online gambling companies, having been born into a family running betting shops in Stoke-on-Trent.
Peter Coates is her father and John Coates is her brother and joint-chief executive.