The 10 Richest Men of UK

The sixth-largest economy in the world, United Kingdom is home to several of its billionaires. In its most recent Rich List, the Sunday Times reports that the collective net worth of UK’s 1000 richest people has increased almost 30% over the last year, bringing it to a staggering total of 335.5 Sterling Pounds. Here is a list of the ten richest men of United Kingdom and a little extra about who they are.

1. Laxmi Mittal
   
   Reining at the top of the UK rich list for four straight years now is Laxmi Mittal, the steel magnate whose fortunes have more than doubled in the past one year, from 10.8 billion to 22.45 billion Sterling Pounds. With his highly-publicized acquisition of Arcelor Steel last year, which was the world’s second-largest steel manufacturer after Mittal Steel, Laxmi Mittal now controls over ten percent of the global steel market.
   
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   The 56 year-old richest man in UK is of Indian-origin who started out in his family steel business in Calcutta in the 1980s. By 1995 he had separated his businesses from the family’s and was ready to go his own way. Laxmi Mittal is married to Usha and the couple has two children, Aditya and Vanisha. The former has already made his mark in the family business as the chief financial officer who successfully led the Arcelor bid last year. Vanisha’s wedding in hit the global headlines as one of the most extravagant weddings in recent times for which the Vaux le Vicomte was hired and over US $78 million were spent.
    
2. Roman Abramovich
   
   Again of foreign origin, the second-richest man in UK is Roman Abramovich who owns vast assets in the global oil and industrial sector. Abramovich who also owns the popular English Champions League football team Chelsea FC is believed to have a net worth of 7.4 billion Sterling Pounds. Even though he made most of his fortunes from oil when he bought and then sold the Sibneft mining operation, at present Abramovich holds billion-dollar stake in Highland Gold, a gold mining group as well as Ervaz, one of Russia’s largest steel groups. He is the main owner of the private investment company Millcent LC.
   
   The 44 year-old UK billionaire is of Russian-Jewish origin who has also served as the Governor of the Russian province of Chukotka in an eventful career span marked by allegations of bribery, blackmail, loan fraud, anti-trust violations and even arrest for theft. Abramovich has been married twice, the first time for only three years to Olga Yurevna Lysova. His second marriage to Irina Vyacheslavovna Malandina lasted for fifteen years and saw the birth of five children. However he and Irina divorced in 2007 following news of his affair with Daria Zhukova, daughter of a famous Russian oligarch Alexander Radkin Zhukov. The divorce made news headlines for a reported settlement of US $300 million, one of the highest in the times. Abramovich and Daria had their first child in Los Angeles on 4th December 2009.
   
   

   

   
    
3. Duke of Westminster
   
   Perhaps the only representative of the country’s aristocracy among UK’s ten richest men, the Duke of Westminster owes his 6.75 billion Sterling Pounds net worth to his ownership of some of the most expensive real estate in England. Grosvenor Estate, the Duke of Westminster’s private property group, owns or manages large parts of London including two main areas in Belgravia and Mayfair extending as far as Oxford Street to the north and Victoria station to the south.
   
   58 year-old Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor is the sixth Duke of Westminster. Besides being the biggest landowner in UK, he is also actively involved in the Territorial Army. The Duke is married to Natasha Ayesha Philips, an indirect descendent of Russian writer Alexander Pushkin and King George I, thus giving her a distant royal lineage as well. The couple has four children, three daughters and one son, Hugh Richard Louis Grosvenor who is the heir to the Duke’s title. The Duke is famous for his attachment and lavish care on objects of antique value which include a rarely used black and white telephone box outside his remote Scottish estate in Achfary as well as a wooden 100 year-old yacht which he had lovingly restored to its former Edwardian glory before recently putting it up for sale.
   
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4. The Hinduja Brothers
   
   Brothers, Sri and Gopi Hinduja are the prime owners the Hinduja family fortune which is estimated at 6.2 billion Sterling Pounds. The primary source of the Hinduja fortune is industry and finance and currently their products range from automotive, commercial vehicles and industrial lubricants to banking and ITES.
   
   The Hinduja family came rather late into their UK citizenship and has been involved in several controversies including the manner of acquiring their citizenship, the Bofors defense deal between Sweden and India as well as accounts in Swiss banks. Not much is known about their families as the brothers prefer to keep personal life out of media glare.
    
5. Ernesto Bertarelli
   
   Ernesto with wife Kirsty Bertarelli is estimated to have a net worth of around 5.95 billion Sterling Pounds. The main source of this fortune is the pharmaceutical firm Serono, founded by his father which he developed and then sold to Merck of Germany for a huge profit. Currently Bertarelli’s business interests include Kedge Capital, an investment management group, and Ares Life Sciences, a private equity vehicle which builds on his industry knowledge.
   
   The 45 year-old business tycoon is of Italian and Swiss origins but holds a British citizenship as well by virtue of his marriage to Kirsty Roper, a former Miss UK. The two reportedly met in the summer of 1997 while dining with mutual friends at their villa on the Sardinian coast. Besides being the wife of one of UK’s richest men, Kirsty is a fashion designer as well who has recently unveiled her own line of jewelry and luxury clothing in collaboration with the co-sponsors of her husband’s American’s Cup team. The couple has three children and they reside in Switzerland.
    
6. Hans Rausing
   
   Hans Rausing finds mention on UK’s list of ten richest men owing to the 5.4 billion Sterling Pounds fortune he hold with his family. The primary source of the Rausing fortune is Tetra-Pak, the world’s largest packaging production company and founded his Hans’s father Ruben Rausing. After serving as the Managing Director for thirty-seven years at Tetra Laval, Hans sold off his half of the company to his late brother Gad Rausing in 1996 for a reported sum of US$ 7 billion.
   
   The 84 year-old Swedish billionaire is presently based in Britain and resides at his 900 acre estate in Wadhurst, East Sussex. He enjoys his leisure by raising deers and collecting vintage cars. He has three children, Lisbet, Sigrid and Hans Kristian Rausing from his marriage to Marit Rausing with whom he came to England in 1984 in order to escape his homeland’s punitive taxation.
    
7. John Fredriksen
   
   Owner of the world’s largest oil tanker fleet, John Fredriksen is estimated to have a net worth of 4.65 billion Sterling Pounds. Apart from possessing vast assets in shipping, he is also the owner of investment companies Hemen Holdings and Meisha through which Fredriksen controls the companies Frontline and Golar LNG.
   
   Fredriksen was a Norwegian citizen until he decided to adopt a Cypriot passport in 2006. However he lives and works from his 100 million dollar home in Chelsea, London thus making him a UK resident as well. He is a widower and father of two children. Among his passions are collecting classic Swedish art as well as rooting for football teams like Vålerenga IF Fotball and Tranmere Rovers.
    
8. Sir Philip Green
   
   Together with his wife Lady Cristina, Sir Philip Green is believed to be worth around 4.4 billion Sterling Pounds. He owns some of UK’s largest retailers including the Arcadia Group and his assets currently control 12% of the UK clothing retail market, the second-largest sector in the sector. In 2006, he was knighted for his services to the UK retail industry.
   
   The 58 year-old retail magnate is believed to spend the week working and living in a hotel in London while weekends are spent with his South African wife Cristina and two children, Chloe and Brandon in an apartment they own in Monaco. Green is known for his extravagant lifestyle and expressive language which has often featured in the news headlines.
    
9. David and Simon Reuben
   
   As Joint chief executives of Reuben Brothers, David and Simon, owe their presence among UK’s ten richest men to their massive property and internet empire which makes their personal net worth at around 5.5 billion Sterling Pounds. The brothers made their fortune in the 1980s and ‘90s in metal trading and property and currently over half their wealth are in liquid assets like cash and bonds.
   
   Sons of an Iraqi-Jewish textile merchant, David and Simon lead a reclusive existence and not much is more about their personal lives. Both Reuben brothers are married with children and while David divides his time between London and France, Simon resides in Monaco despite being a UK citizen. The two are actively involved in the family-owned charitable trust, The Reuben Foundation which mainly donates to health and education sectors.
    
10. Richard Branson
    
    The flamboyant owner and chairman of the Virgin Group, Sir Richard Branson is believed have a net worth of almost 3 billion Sterling Pounds. Starting with his first successful business venture, publishing a magazine titled Student, at the age of 16 to having interests in sectors as diverse as aviation, music publishing, media and communication, Richard Branson seems to have a finger in every profit-making pie.
    
    In 1999 Richard Branson was knighted for his services to entrepreneurship and soon became a youth icon for his interest in adventure sports as well as philanthropic work. He has been married twice, the first time to Kristen Tomassi with whom the marriage lasted five years. Currently he is married to Joan Templeman with whom he has two children, Holly and Sam.