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Daily Mirror
24-05-2025
- Automotive
- Daily Mirror
Lewis Hamilton's name change, Monaco winner's net worth, dating history
Sir Lewis Hamilton has once again been named as the UK's richest active sportsperson, but the F1 star's life has seen a lot happen away from the track Formula One ace Sir Lewis Hamilton has once again topped the list as the UK's wealthiest active sportsman, according to the 2025 Sunday Times Rich List. The seven-time world champion was previously ranked as the 350th richest individual in the UK, boasting a staggering net worth of £350million. However, following his lucrative switch from Mercedes to Ferrari ahead of the 2025 Formula One World Championship, his fortune has skyrocketed, with his net worth now estimated at £385m, placing him 324th on the list. Hamilton's surprise move to Ferrari sent shockwaves through the F1 community, especially since he had inked a two-year contract with Mercedes the previous summer before opting to activate a one-year break clause. The 40-year-old is reportedly set to pocket an eye-watering £50m annually with his new team, having agreed to a two-season contract with an option for a third in 2027. This salary shatters the record for the highest F1 pay packet ever, a record previously held by Max Verstappen last season when he earned a base salary of £47m, reports Wales Online. Hamilton's earnings could potentially exceed his £50m salary, as this figure is not thought to include performance bonuses, meaning it could significantly increase if the season proves successful. However, after six races with Ferrari, the British star has yet to secure a podium finish, with his fourth placed finish at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix being his best performance with the Scuderia. He clinched his last World Championship title in 2020, equalling Michael Schumacher's seven-world-title record and solidifying his status as one of the greatest racing drivers ever. Since then, there's been plenty of buzz around Hamilton's life off the circuit, including whispers about his romantic connections with various A-list celebrities and even chatter about him considering a name change. Mirror Sport takes you through some of these occurrences. Surprise name change Hamilton made headlines when he announced a surprise name change. In 2021, after being knighted for his contributions to motorsport, Hamilton brought along his mother Carmen, who separated from his father Anthony during his childhood, to witness his knighthood ceremony conducted by King Charles at Windsor Castle. The year after his knighthood, Hamilton disclosed his intentions to honour his mother in an impactful way, declaring that he was in the process of legally adopting her maiden name, Larbalestier, into his own as a middle name. He said: "None of you might know that my mum's [sur]name is Larbalestier, and I'm just about to put that in my name. "Because I don't really fully understand the whole idea of why, when people get married, the woman loses her name. I really want her name to continue on with the Hamilton name." It's unknown as to whether Hamilton has followed through with the legal procedures to effectuate the name change. Lewis Hamilton's dating history Hamilton's love life continues to draw attention, especially considering his past relationships with prominent stars. Throughout his illustrious career, Hamilton's high-profile relationships and romantic life have been under intense media scrutiny. He has reportedly dated an array of A-list celebrities over the years, including his well-publicised romance with Pussycat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger, which lasted for nearly eight years. The on-again, off-again relationship began when they met at the 2007 MTV EMAs but ended for good in February 2015, after three break-ups. At the time, both parties were said to be "devastated" by the split. Scherzinger moved on to date Bulgarian tennis player Grigor Dimitrov, followed by Scottish rugby international Thom Evans, to whom she is now engaged. Hamilton, meanwhile, has been linked to numerous high-profile figures from the music, fashion, and entertainment industries. Some of these rumoured connections include supermodels Gigi Hadid and Kendall Jenner, as well as singer Rihanna, all of whom he claimed were simply close friends. Other prominent names associated with the British racing star include singers Rita Ora, Nicki Minaj, and Shakira, alongside model Juliana Nalu, an ex-girlfriend of Kanye West. More recently, Hamilton sparked romance speculation when spotted having lunch with Modern Family actress Sofia Vergara, 12 years his senior, in New York. TMZ stated the couple were "engrossed in conversation" yet any whispers of romance have been squashed, as it appears they are both friends. Hollywood film role Hamilton is set to blaze his trail into Tinseltown later this year with 'F1: The Movie' hitting cinemas. He'll join Hollywood big-hitters like Brad Pitt and Javier Bardem in a fast-paced drama that's got motorsport fans' hearts racing. Pitt plays an ex-F1 driver pushed back onto the track to guide a young hotshot. Hamilton will be sharing the silver screen with all the speedsters from 2023's F1 teams, appearing as themselves. He has been praised by the directors, not just for his acting, but also as a producer, where he helped ensure the scenery and the happenings were as close to F1 reality as possible. Director Joseph Kosinski said to "The first day was really fun. It was me, Brad and Lewis Hamilton at the track together, all of us jumping in cars and driving each other around in sports cars, which was one of those things, I'll never forget having Lewis Hamilton as your driving instructor. "Brad and Damson are both driving in this film and in order to get them into these race cars, it required months, literally months of training. But what we learned and what Lewis was really interested [in] was seeing, did Brad know how to drive, right? Because if Brad can't drive, this whole film wasn't going to work. "What Lewis was very happy to discover was that Brad had a lot of just natural ability right from the start, and I don't know where he got that or if he was born with it, and he rides motorcycles, which I think has something to do with it. But he's just a very talented, naturally gifted driver, which for Lewis after that first meeting gave him a lot of confidence that we might have a shot at pulling this off."
The Guardian
23-05-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
The Guardian view on billionaire Britain: tax wealth fairly or face democratic unravelling
Britain for the last decade has experienced a bleak paradox: rising child poverty alongside a dramatic increase in billionaire wealth. This inequality has been tolerated partly because greed has been rehabilitated as virtue. The Billionaire Britain report, published this week by the Equality Trust, reveals what many instinctively feel but few in parliament will admit: the UK economy has become a machine for the upward redistribution of wealth. Using Sunday Times Rich List data, the report found that the 50 wealthiest UK families now own more than the poorest half of the population combined. Their opulence is no accident. It's largely built on the labour and consumption of those 34 million other Britons. The gains of society are being hoarded by those least in need. There's a lexicon that sells it all as 'entrepreneurial spirit' and business dynamism. But the very markets that reward the wealthiest so handsomely are constructed and policed by the state. Governments entrench intellectual property rights, strengthen legal monopolies and write policies that benefit banks and asset markets. Austerity was imposed on the many, even as a decade of quantitative easing created fiscal space that could have been used for public good. Instead it enriched the already wealthy by inflating property and share prices while tax cuts benefited the rich. A small correction to pandemic-driven gains for the billionaire class signifies no major shift. Their fortunes are 10 times larger today than they were in 1990. Louis XIV's finance minister said good tax policy plucks the most feathers with the least hissing. It was suggested that the government's small-scale tax rises had triggered a full-blown squawk. More than 10,000 millionaires, it was reported, had fled the UK in 2024. The source? Not actual migration data, but a firm selling second passports to the nervous rich. It is hard to not think such a company feeds on tax panic. Its numbers appear more astute marketing than solid evidence. Labour should be immune to such public relations stunts. Billionaires do not emerge in a vacuum. They are the product of deliberate choices. Property speculation, inheritance laws and tax avoidance schemes are not spontaneous market outcomes. They are often lobbied for by people with access to government, on behalf of those who stand to profit. It's no accident, then, that over a quarter of UK billionaires built their wealth through property and inheritance, and another quarter through finance – sectors that rely on rent extraction more than innovation. The rich get richer because political leaders protect that growth – often in service of their own ambitions. A Britain governed in the public interest must not defer to a plutocratic class. There needs to be a break with the current model. Politicians could, as a start, take up Tax Justice UK's idea for a 2% wealth tax on assets over £10m. Campaigners say this would raise £24bn annually – enough to begin repairing broken Britain. Oxfam says 78% of the public would support such a progressive levy. Yet such proposals are still framed as radical. What's radical is that monopoly profits end up in private hands while the state can't fund public services. It is inescapably true that the rules have been written to benefit a tiny elite. They can be rewritten. If not, then the cost to society risks being paid in populist anger, democratic decay and a long-term loss of trust.
United News of India
18-05-2025
- Business
- United News of India
The Hinduja family retains top spot on UK's rich list 2025 for fourth successive year
Hyderabad, May 18 (UNI) The Hinduja family led by Gopichand Hinduja, Chairman of the Hinduja Group, a 110-year-old multinational conglomerate, has topped the Sunday Times Rich List at £35.3 Billion for the fourth successive year. The Sunday Times Rich List is a definitive annual ranking of the wealthiest individuals and families residing in the United Kingdom, with 350 entries in the 2025 edition. Despite global headwinds and policy shifts, the Hinduja family has continued to demonstrate exceptional business resilience and global leadership. The UK-based family's group of companies, headed by Chairman, G.P. Hinduja, operates in 38 countries with investments in several sectors – mobility, Digital Technology, Banking and Financial Services, Media, Project Development, Lubricants and Specialty Chemicals, Energy, Real Estate, Trading, and Healthcare. Notably, over the past year, the Hinduja Group has also stepped up its focus on the electric mobility sector in India including investments in vehicle charging infrastructure, reflecting a strategic pivot towards sustainability and future-ready innovation. Beyond their business empire, the Hinduja family remains deeply committed to social impact through the Hinduja Foundation, which focuses on transformative initiatives in education, healthcare, sustainable rural development, and water conservation, impacting communities across geographies. Among the other esteemed names featured on The Sunday Times Rich List 2025 are David and Simon Reuben and family with £26.873bn, Leonard Blavatnik with £25.725bn, James Dyson and family with £20.8bn, Idan Ofer with £20.121bn, Guy, George, Alannah and Galen Weston and family with £17.746bn, Jim Ratcliffe with £17.046bn, Lakshmi Mittal and family with £15.444bn net worth. UNI KNR RN
Wales Online
18-05-2025
- Business
- Wales Online
Billionaire's holiday home in stunning Welsh village with a 'bloody awful' caveat
Billionaire's holiday home in stunning Welsh village with a 'bloody awful' caveat He described the coastal spot as Wales' Côte d'Azur Simon Nixon, the co-founder of (Image: Western Mail ) Billionaire Simon Nixon, who made his fortune through the website has been crowned as the second-richest man in Wales, according to the Sunday Times Rich List. The tech entrepreneur co-founded the website in 1993. However, before the website and the billions, Mr Nixon grew up in Flintshire, North Wales, although he was born in Lincolnshire. Mr Nixon went on to make his company public in 2007, and had sold all his shares in by 2016. The billionaire had indicated an intention to leave Britain to Cheshire Live as the weather here was 'bloody awful'. He said at the time: 'I have been looking. For a long time I have wanted to spend more time in a climate where the weather is better. The whole point of having financial independence is to enhance your standard of living. 'Don't get me wrong, if I could combine a higher standard of living with lower tax that would be an advantage.' Love dreamy Welsh homes? Sign up to our newsletter here Mr Nixon is reported to have moved from Chester in England to Jersey in 2013, where he owns a multi-million dollar home, according to Forbes. Article continues below Mr Nixon presently has investments in Monzo, and also makes money from his holiday home website Simon Escapes where he rents out his personal collection of luxury homes around the world from Cornwall to Malibu. The billionaire who is currently worth £1.95bn of propertY around the globe and also owns a luxury pad in Wales. Abersoch is an in-demand destination in Wales (Image: Ian Cooper/North Wales Live ) He bought the Borth Cottage in Abersoch, Gwynedd in around 2011, hailing the location as Wales' Côte d'Azur. After shelling out over £1.2m on a makeover for the property, the billionaire had hoped that this luxurious property would help local businesses in the area. Speaking to Wales Online in 2013 , Mr Nixon said that if her had wanted to make money, he would have invested in something else. He said at the time: 'I want the area to prosper and do well. For me, if the area becomes an all-year round place for tourists that would be my goal.' Mr Nixon also believed that Abersoch's Coconut Kitchen was among the best Thai restaurants around. He said: 'All the fish comes from the local area, the cafes are great too and so is the surfing school. 'There are so many good facilities around that I would like to see people use – have the cafes open all year round, for example.' Though the property was initially meant to be a residence for the billionaire, but he decided against it, as he said: 'I would have felt really guilty about this. Properties are meant to be lived in – they need to breathe, and it isn't good for the area if nobody is around. 'Now people will be there for about 45 weeks of the year, people who appreciate and respect the house and its location.' Article continues below Mr Nixon's luxury lets can be rented out as part of his Simon's Escapes business.
Daily Mail
17-05-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Revealed: The unassuming Essex office where the 'asylum king' has built up a billion pound empire cashing in on the UK's migrant crisis
This is the unlikely headquarters of the booming business empire masterminded by Graham King - Britain's first asylum billionaire. Hidden away on an industrial estate in Essex, few could imagine the fabulous riches being generated inside the unprepossessing office building with a roof made of corrugated iron. At a time when a record number of firms are going bust or facing financial crisis amid soaring costs and taxes, Mr King's operation raked in more than £1.7billion over 12 months according to latest published figures. Its outrageous success has seen the former caravan park boss dubbed the 'Asylum King' amass a personal fortune estimated at £1.015 billion - all funded by the taxpayer. Last week, as Mr King celebrated his 58th birthday, it emerged the tycoon has enjoyed a 35 per cent jump in his wealth in the past year, making him one of the Sunday Times Rich List's new billionaires. He is ranked 154th in the 2025 list of the UK's wealthiest people - rising from 221st place last year when he made his debut on the index with £750 million. Taking over hotels to provide supposedly short-term accommodation for asylum seekers has turned Mr King into the largest individual beneficiary of Britain's broken immigration system. While official reports have criticised failings in how his outsourcing organisation houses migrants, the cash continued to flood in allowing Mr King to enjoy a jet set lifestyle - patronising some of the world's top hotels and dining at Michelin-starred restaurants. Last year MailOnline highlighted how he had used his fortune to rebrand himself as a 'gentleman racing driver' while whisking glamorous Latvian girlfriend Lolita Lace on a string of romantic holidays. Mr King previously posted a string of photos on TripAdvisor with his long-term partner who celebrates her own landmark birthday this month when she turns 40. As of last year he claimed to have travelled 245,029 miles and visited 276 cities around the world. So just how did the entrepreneur - who had previously been involved in a string of family businesses - become wealthy beyond his wildest dreams? The answer, in some ways, is straightforward as business has never been so good. Last year saw net migration of 728,000 with more than 108,000 asylum claims - the highest number since records began in 1979 and rising from 91,811 in 2023. As thousands continue to arrive in small boats, also in record numbers, a backlog of processing claims has led to more than 38,000 asylum seekers being housed in 222 hotels with a further 66,000 people in 'dispersal accommodation', such as large houses, bedsits and flats. Yet it appears officials massively got their sums wrong when it comes to estimating the amount of taxpayers money that would be needed to foot the bill. The cost to the Government of 10-year asylum contracts issued in 2019 has rocketed from an estimated £4.5 billion to £15.3 billion, according to the National Audit Office. It means that on average the taxpayer will spend £4,191,780 a day on housing asylum seekers over the life of the contracts. How all the money is being spent appears to remain a mystery even to the Home Office which awarded the contracts to Mr King's company Clearsprings Ready Homes and two other firms. Clearsprings is the largest recipient by far after being awarded two 10-year contracts in 2019 which are funded from the foreign aid budget. It's been estimated that Clearsprings accounts for one in every £20 spent by the Home Office including on police, fire and other services. The contracts, to provide accommodation, transport, food and welfare services in the south of England and Wales, were originally valued at £1 billion by the Home Office which now reportedly estimates their worth at £7.3 billion. The firm also signed an extension to its contract with Kent County Council to provide accommodation and support to young asylum seekers and other care leavers. MailOnline can reveal that the business is now so bloated with Government cash that it has one of the highest revenues per employee of any company in the UK. Latest Companies House records show the firm made an operating profit of nearly £117million - up from nearly £75million the previous year. In 2020, Clearsprings made an operating profit of just £763,000. Bosses including Mr King, who is listed as owning between 25 per cent and 50 per cent of it, were paid dividends of £90million during the year, compared with £57million in the previous 12 months, according to the accounts. During the year, the number of staff employed grew from 278 to 391 - with its annual turnover amounting to an incredible £4,460,060 per employee. The accounts disclosed that the figure equated to an operating profit for each employee of £298,880 - compared with £269,377 in the previous year. And it would seem the future remains bright for the company despite pledges by the Government to move away from migrant hotels. One entry in the accounts states: 'Demand for accommodation for asylum seekers including contingency accommodation such as hotels has remained high throughout the year. 'Political and economic upheavals in many countries have driven a high number of asylum applications within the UK during the year.' A strategic report noted: 'Government legislation and policy is designed to reduce the number of asylum applicants arriving in the UK. Some reduction in the numbers accommodated in future is anticipated.' But it added that the long-term nature of its contracts and 'pre-agreed rates' meant risks were 'minimal'. In reality, Mr King will have pocketed an even higher proportion of the profits due to him having 75 per cent or more majority control of the company's parent firm Clearsprings (Management) Ltd. Despite the massive business operation, Mr King's firms appear to have very few assets of their own, MailOnline can reveal. Clearsprings owns 16 properties in Wales and the north west largely made up of two up two down Coronation Street-style homes. The properties were bought for a total of £1,428,450 and are now worth an estimated £2.325 million, according to online valuations. One home in Oldham bought in 2003 for £27,500 would now fetch an estimated £116,000. Another home in Manchester bought in the same year for £33,000 is thought to be worth £171,000. In 2007 and 2008 Mr King's firm splashed out on 14 properties in Swansea ranging in price from £73,000 to £123,000 according to public documents. All still have mortgages. The management company also owns a further unnamed property which is worth £3.555 million, having risen by £637,000 in value over the last year. Mr King grew up in Canvey Island after his father Jack, who had started life as a shed salesman in Romford, moved the family there and bought a failing caravan park from the local council. He turned it into a mobile home business and Graham and his older brother Jeff spent years working for Jack at the caravan park, called Kings Park, taking over when he retired. It was sold in 2007 for £32 million. The family also owned a taxi company, a car dealership and nightclubs that hosted performers including Shirley Bassey and Tommy Cooper. At one stage the brothers branched out to create an under-18s disco in a cinema in Leigh, Essex, but complaints about teenagers vandalising cars, and urinating and vomiting in the street led to the council withdrawing its entertainment licence. Clearsprings was established in 1999 and the following year won one of the initial contracts handed out after Tony Blair and his New Labour government began dispersing asylum seekers around Britain and outsourcing accommodation to private firms. In the following years, Mr King won a succession of lucrative Home Office contracts, gradually seeing off numerous competitors to become one of just three key accommodation providers across the country. Clearsprings makes the majority of its profits from managing asylum hotels for others, rather than owning them outright. Accommodation includes the Napier Barracks site in Kent and the former RAF Wethersfield base in Essex, as well as an undisclosed number of hotels. Mr King has previously faced accusations of providing unfit accommodation with complaints made about alleged bug and rodent infestations, cramped conditions, water leaking through ceilings, limited heating and electricity, and a lack of drinking water. In 2021, inspectors described Napier Barracks and Penally Camp in Pembrokeshire, as filthy and having 'decrepit', 'impoverished' and 'run down' conditions. Of the 1,500 complaints the Home Office received about the state of asylum hotels in 2023, the majority (901) were linked to Clearsprings Ready Homes, according to data obtained via freedom of information laws. The revelation coincided with a protest in London by more than 70 asylum seekers, including children, who slept on the street because they had allegedly been told by Clearsprings that they would have to share single rooms, some without beds, between four people. In March this year the Home Office ordered Clearsprings to end arrangements with one of its subcontractors, Stay Belvedere Hotels Ltd, due to 'poor performance and behaviour'. Inspectors also reported that as part of their audit of the Home Office's 2023-24 financial statements, they reviewed a selection of Clearsprings monthly invoices for hotels and the Home Office was 'not able to provide a complete evidence trail to support the amounts being charged that were higher than the original agreement'. They estimated that £58 million was 'potentially unsupported for that financial year' and recommended the Home Office could improve 'invoicing controls … to reduce the risk of overpayment'. Shortly after signing his first Government contract in 2000, Mr King left Canvey Island. He moved to a 60-acre listed farmhouse in Chappel, a village near Colchester, with his Austrian-born wife Carin and their two young children, who were both educated at Felsted school where boarding fees range up to £46,755 a year. He and Carin split years ago and Mr King embarked on a new adventure after meeting Lolita. The couple now divide their time between Mayfair and Monaco, while travelling the world including one trip to the Caribbean where they rode horses in the sea and skiing in the French Alps. Lolita - known as 'Lolo' - has also acted as team director as Mr King pursued his passion for fast cars by taking part in Porsche Sprint Challenge events around Europe Last May, an Instagram post showed him on the podium spraying champagne as he celebrated victory in a race in the Netherlands. It all seems a world away from the drab surroundings of company HQ which sits next door to a gym and opposite a takeaway snack kiosk on an industrial park beside a busy dual carriageway near Southend-on-Sea. Mr King is rarely seen at the premises and staff were in no mood to discuss matters when they refused to open the door to a MailOnline reporter who visited the office this week, and hung up on the intercom when he introduced himself. An employee of another business nearby said: 'We all know how Clearsprings make their money. It is a bit galling to think that it all comes from the taxpayer. 'I think I have seen Graham King make an occasional visit. But it looks like a lot of his staff now work from home because there are not that many people there. 'Around a year or so ago there was a demonstration outside with people waving placards, and protesting about the standard of accommodation provided for migrants.' ASYLUM KING'S PROPERTIES Rich list billionaire Graham King has a portfolio of 14 properties in Swansea but his immigrant tenants have never heard of him. The terraced houses all look a bit run down and in need of some TLC but together their value adds up to well over £1m.( £1,131,450). They are managed by King's company Clearsprings Ready Homes which has been providing accommodation services to the Home Office for 25 years. Neighbours of the five properties visited by Mail Online said there was a steady stream of occupants and no one lived there for long. One neighbour complained of loud music coming from the end of terrace property in Robert Street, Manseltown, Swansea, and men smoking weed in the street outside. The mum-of-two said: 'I've complained directly to the men who live there but it still goes on. 'I understand they are asylum seekers and need somewhere to live but they should respect the community they are living in. 'I can hear loud music and shouting at 2am and they know I have two young children living here. 'I don't know who the landlord is so it's not possible to complain to them.' Neighbours of a terraced property in Courtney Street, also in Manseltown, said there were only ever women occupants 'coming and going, carrying suitcases'. A street resident said: 'The curtains are always drawn but I know it's only women living there and they are not there for long before a new lot arrive. 'It's been a house of multi occupation for getting on for 20 years, I've no idea who the landlord is.' Many of King's tenants are on the books of Migrant Help, a UK charity that supported 115,122 asylum seekers last year. The Jegatheepom family, from Sri Lanka, have been living in one of King's properties in Clare Street, Swansea, for the last two years but have never heard of the property billionaire. Shopworker Pathmamathan Jegatheepom, 40, a father-of-two, said: 'There is a noticeboard at the entrance that says Clearsprings Ready Homes are the owners but I don't know anything about them. 'We deal with Migrant Help, someone comes to visit us every month They are very nice, very good. I think he's the housing manager.' A 44-year-old mother-of-three, a refugee from Tanzania, living in a three-bedroomed terrace in Carmarthen Road said she did not know the identity of the landlord. The single parent said she was not allowed to work because of immigration rules and had been given the property to live in through Migrant Help and pointed to a notice one the wall with a qr code to the charity's website. The woman, who didn't want to be named and said she was 'scared', said she had never heard of Graham King.
