UK sees big fall in billionaires after non-dom tax crackdown, Rich List shows

Independent

16-05-2025

The UK has suffered the biggest fall in billionaires on record after Chancellor Rachel Reeves' non-dom tax crackdown, according to the Sunday Times Rich List.
The annual list of Britain's wealthiest people was once again topped by the Hinduja family, who are worth more than £35 billion.
Famous figures including Sir Elton John, Andrew Lloyd-Webber, Sir Lewis Hamilton, David and Victoria Beckham, and the King all appear in the list of the UK's 350 richest individuals and families.
The latest publication however reveals a third consecutive slump in the number of billionaires residing in the UK.
The number of billionaires slid to 156 this year from 165 in 2024, representing the sharpest decline in the Sunday Times Rich List's 37-year-history.
'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.'
He said he was also 'struck by the strength of criticism for Rachel Reeves's Treasury' when speaking to wealthy individuals for the publication.
Mr Watts said: 'We expected the abolition of non-dom status would anger affluent people from overseas.
'But homegrown young tech entrepreneurs and those running centuries-old family firms are also warning of serious consequences to a range of tax changes unveiled in last October's budget.'
The Labour Government abolished the non-dom tax status in April, which is where UK residents whose permanent home or domicile for tax purposes is outside the UK.
Last year, former Conservative chancellor Jeremy Hunt revealed plans to scrap the tax status before successor Rachel Reeves sped up the process.
Akshata Murty, the wife of former prime minister Rishi Sunak, is among those who were well-known non-doms.
The couple once again appear in the Rich List, although their wealth slipped to £640 million from £651 million a year earlier, after her shares in Infosys – the tech company founded by her father – fell over tariff concerns.
Other notable figures on the list included the King, whose wealth matched that of Mr Sunak and Ms Murty at £640 million.
Gopi Hinduja and his family, who are behind the Indian conglomerate Hinduja Group, were named Britain's richest again in 2025, despite their wealth dipping to £35.3 billion from £37.2 billion.
The Hindujas were followed in the list by real estate moguls David and Simon Reuben, who moved up to second after increasing their wealth to £26.9 billion.
They were followed by investor Sir Leonard Blavatnik, entrepreneur Sir James Dyson and shipping tycoon Idan Ofer.
The biggest faller in 2025 was Ineos founder and Manchester United part-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe who saw his wealth decline by around £6 billion for the second consecutive year.
He is seventh on the list with a wealth of around £17 billion.
Meanwhile, the biggest risers were the Russian-born brothers Igor and Dmitry Bukhman who built a fortune on mobile games such as Gardenscapes and Fishdom, who saw their wealth almost double to £12.5 billion.