Topping The Sunday Times Rich List from the food and drink sector was heiress Charlene and husband Michel de Carvalho, with £7bn – a rise of £1.51bn. The only daughter of the late Freddy Heineken, former chief of the Dutch brewer, inherited her fortune in 2002. Heineken reported profit of £1.4bn last year – driven by strong sales to north and south America.
Galen and George Weston were in second position with £6.65bn, up by £750M. The Weston’s fortune stems partly from business interests in Canada, which includes Loblaw supermarkets and Weston Foods. The family owns Selfridges department stores and one member is the boss of Associated British Foods.
In third position was Hans Rausing and family from the globe’s largest food packaging business Tetra Laval, formed as Tetra Pak. The family’s wealth has reached £4.72bn, up by £420M from last year.
Food distributor
New entrant on this year’s list were Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber and family, whose wealth totals £4.52bn. The family operates the food distributor AJWA in Saudi Arabia and Egypt in addition to a portfolio of hotels and resorts.
Fifth position on the list of the nation’s wealthiest entrepreneurs operating in the food and drink sector was the spirit manufacturer the Grant and Gordon family, whose assets were estimated at £1.4bn. The business owns 30% of the Famous Grouse maker Highland Distillers.
Sixth position was claimed by former Bradford bus conductor Sir Anwar Pervez and family with £1.03bn, up by 37%. The family’s fortune stems from its cash and carry business Bestway and Batleys. The family also operates rice mills in Pakistan.
Seventh position was claimed by Sir Ken Morrison and family, whose supermarket business contributed to their wealth of £1bn, down by £105M since last year. Morrisons – which has been accused of deserting its traditional customers – earlier this month unveiled plans to axe 700 jobs as part of a move to introduce cash counting machines across its 490 stores nationwide.
Morrison has accused current management of the Bradford-based retailer, founded by his father, of making the supermarket too posh.
Eight place was taken by the Earl of Iveagh and the Guinness family, whose assets from brewing and property total £850M. The family now has little involvement with the Guinness business – except a £200M stake in Diageo, which owns the Guinness brand and brewery, according to The Sunday Times report.
Ninth position was claimed by meat entrepreneur Lord Vestey and family, whose assets total £750M. Founded in meat production, the family’s business interests now range from food to shipping and property.
Ranjit and Baljinder Boparan
In tenth place on the list of most wealthy individuals from the food and drink sector was Two Sisters boss Ranjit and Baljinder Boparan. The Boparan’s wealth was reported at £700M, down £50M from the previous list. In addition to 2 Sisters, the husband and wife team own the Harry Ramsden fish and chip shop chain and a property investment business.
Just missing out on the top 10 was Lord Sainsbury and family, whose assets are estimated £590M, up by £70M on the previous year. The Sainsbury family owns a 8.2% stake in the supermarket business.
Meanwhile, the top place on the list were claimed by mining and investment magnate Alisher Usmanov, with a net worth up by 8% at £13.3bn.
The combined wealth of the 200 people on the list this year totals £318.2bn – an 800% rise since the first list in 1989.
The UK now has 10 times as many billionaires as when the list was first compiled 25 years ago.
Moreover the rate of wealth accumulation is up 8.5% this year, compared with the previous year.
A snapshot of last year’s Rich List is available here.
Food and drink Rich List – at a glance
- Charlene and Michel de Carvalho – £7bn (up £1.5bn)
- Galen and George Weston – £6.65bn (up £750M)
- Hans Rausing and family – £4.72bn, (up £420M)
- Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber and family – £4.52bn
- Grant and Gordon family Spirits – £1.4bn
- Sir Anwar Pervez and family – £1.03bn (up 37%)
- Sir Ken Morrison and family – £1bn (down by £105M)
- Earl of Iveagh and the Guinness family – £850M
- Lord Vestey and family –£750M
- Ranjit and Baljinder Boparan – £700M (down £50M)
Source: The Sunday Times