Downturn makes for not-quite-so-rich list

Published on Sunday 26 April 2009 22:40

AN ARAB billionaire emerged yesterday as Scotland's richest man, bucking the downward trend of falling wealth in the last year, which has seen a substantial drop in the number of billionaires in the UK.

Mahdi al-Tajir, who owns the Blackford estate in Perthshire and the Highland Spring mineral water firm, also in Blackford, was named the wealthiest man north of the Border with a fortune of 1.5 billion.

In doing so, he has overtaken entrepreneur Sir Tom Hunter. Sir Tom has lost significant sums in the credit crunch but has also asked to be taken off the Rich List because he intends to give the bulk of his fortune to charity, so does not consider the money as his.

The annual publication of the Sunday Times Rich List is usually a chance for the rich and famous to show how much their fortunes have grown.

But that was not the case for many of them yesterday when it emerged that 150 billion has been wiped off the fortunes of the UK's richest people in the international economic crisis. In just a year, the number of billionaires has fallen from 75 to 43.

The biggest single loser is London-based steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, who has seen his personal fortune drop by almost 17 billion to 10.8 billion.

Despite that, he retains his place as the country's richest man for the fifth year running.

Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich keeps his position at second on the list despite his fortune falling to 7 billion from 11.7 billion.

The richest British-born billionaire is the Duke of Westminster. His fortune, mainly based on property, has shrunk to 6.5 billion from 7 billion. Collectively, the 1,000 multi-millionaires in the list are worth 258 billion, down from last year's record total of 413 billion.

Philip Beresford, who has compiled the list for the last 21 years, said he was surprised at the scale of the losses suffered by many of the super-rich.

He said: "I am beyond being surprised except by the scale of the devastation. It is extraordinary how people have seen their fortunes being whittled away. It is devastation all round.

"But losing a few zeros off your theoretical fortune is nothing to being turfed out of your home or your job."

Highland Spring owner Mr al-Tajir is one of the winners.

The 77-year-old's wealth is now more than double that of the oil tycoon Sir Ian Wood, the second-highest placed Scottish-based entrepreneur.

Highland Spring, which has its main bottling plant on Mr al-Tajir's Blackford Farms estate, is the second biggest selling mineral water in the UK behind Evian.

Sir Ian, chairman of the Aberdeen-based oil services firm the Wood Group, is the second richest man in Scotland for the second year running. His wealth is valued at 747 million, down from 890 million last year.

Lord Irvine Laidlaw, the Conservative peer, has taken third place despite a 100 million fall in his fortune to 630 million.

The Duke of Sutherland, who sold the Titian painting Diana and Actaeon to the National Galleries of Scotland and London earlier this year, has seen his wealth more than double to 480 million, making him No 8 on the Scottish List.

SIR TOM HUNTER

RETAIL tycoon Sir Tom's fortune has taken a pounding in the last year, partly because of the credit crunch and partly because he is giving away an increasing amount to charity. Sir Tom has asked to be taken off the Rich List as he is committed to giving the bulk of his wealth to charity, so does not consider it be his money.

MAHDI AL-TAJIR

MR AL-TAJIR owns the Highland Spring mineral water firm in Blackford. The 77-year-old is a former United Arab Emirates ambassador to Britain. Educated at Preston grammar school, he started to accumulate wealth when he organised the customs service in Dubai, which legally entitled him to a cut of the port's gold trade. He has lost 700 million in value this year.

THE DUKE OF SUTHERLAND

THE aristocrat has achieved the notable distinction of leading the list of "biggest risers" – those who have seen themselves shoot up the Rich List in the past year. Part of this was due to the 50 million he received from the nation for Titian's Diana and Actaeon, the first of two paintings by that artist he is selling. His fortune is 480m.

SIR IAN WOOD

SIR Ian is chairman of the Aberdeen-based oil firm Wood Group. He is the second-richest man in Scotland.

Born and brought up in Aberdeen, he was CEO and chairman of Wood Group from 1982-2007, until he stepped down from the former role in 2007. Since 2004, he has been Chancellor of Robert Gordon University.

LAKSHMI MITTAL

LONDON-BASED steel magnate Mr Mittal is the UK's richest man, a position he has held for the last five years. That is despite seeing his personal fortune drop by almost 17 billion to 10.8 billion. He was born in Sadulpur village, in the Churu district of Rajasthan, India, but now lives in Kensington in central London.

JK ROWLING

ARGUABLY the world's most famous author, the Scotland-based creator of the Harry Potter stories saw her personal wealth dip by 61 million last year, to 499 million. This put her outside the top 100 – at 101 – in the Rich List but this is expected to be only a temporary blip. With royalties averaging about 1 a book and a cut of the film rights, there is surely more to come as the movies of the remaining books in the series are released in the cinema.

RICHEST IN UK

1) Lakshmi Mittal.

2) Roman Abramovich.

3) Duke of Westminster.

4) Ernesto and Kirsty Bertarelli.

5) Hans Rausing.

6) Sir Philip & Lady Green.

7) Charlene and Michel de Carvalho.

8) Sammy and Eyal Ofer.

9) John Fredriksen;Joe Lewis; Kirsten and Jorn Rausing;

David and Simon Reuben.