Kretinsky, 46, is known as the “Czech Sphinx” for
his quiet, inscrutable manner. The lawyer turned
dealmaker has certainly been on the prowl in
recent years, buying up a string of UK assets. In
November he took a 27 per cent stake in West
Ham United, securing an option that may allow
him one day to take full control of the Premier
League side. Kretinsky is also Royal Mail’s largest
shareholder. His investment vehicle Vesa owns
more than 20 per cent of the post and courier
service, a holding worth about £676.4 million.
A stake of just over 10 per cent in the supermarket
giant J Sainsbury, worth about £565 million, addsto his wealth — making Kretinsky the joint highest
new entry in our list with Hilton Schlosberg (qv).
Most of his fortune stems from control of the
Prague-based energy giant EPH, which has power
plants in North Yorkshire, Northumberland, Devon
and Lincolnshire. Its London-based subsidiary has
£108.5 million sitting on its balance sheet.
Kretinsky owns stakes in the French newspaper Le
Monde and the German wholesaler Metro AG. In
the US he has bought the shoe retailer Foot Locker
and the department store chain Macy’s.
Kretinsky is quite an anglophile with a keen
interest in British history and a significant propertyportfolio here. He owns Heath Hall, a 15-bedroom
house in the Bishops Avenue in north London, once
rented by the Canadian pop star Justin Bieber for
£27,000 a week during a tour.
Kretinsky is in a long-term relationship with
the Olympic showjumper Anna Kellnerova, 25.
She is the daughter of Petr Kellner, a Czech
billionaire and former associate of Kretinsky —
as one of the founders of EPH — who died in a
helicopter accident in March last year.
Despite the disruption to the global energy
market exacerbated by the Ukraine conflict, we
estimate Kretinsky’s wealth at £3 billion.56= DANIEL KRETINSKY
£3bn New entry ★
Energy, telecoms, media and footballDaniel Kretinsky’s stake
in West Ham United
gives him an option to
take full control one day62 YAKIR GABAY
£2.9bn £100m ▼
Property 2021: £3bn, 5463 ALAN PARKER
£2.8bn £46m ▼
Duty-free shopping 2021: £2.846bn, 5764 CLIVE CALDER
£2.75bn £250m ▲
Music: Zomba 2021: £2.5bn, 65=65 SAMMY TAK LEE AND FAMILY
£2.731bn No change ■
Property 2021: £2.731bn, 6066 INNA GUDAVADZE
£2.65bn No change ■
Inheritance 2021: £2.65bn, 6367 SIR CHRIS HOHN
£2.6bn £100m ▲
Hedge fund 2021: £2.5bn, 65=68 GEOFFREY WARREN
£2.552bn £1.107bn ▲
Car sales and property: Cargiant 2021: £1.445bn, 11469 SIMON, BOBBY AND ROBIN ARORA
£2.543bn £19m ▲
Discount stores: B&M 2021: £2.524bn, 6470 TONY MURRAY AND FAMILY
£2.53bn £230m ▲
Plant hire, property and fire protection 2021: £2.3bn, 7271 TELIS MISTAKIDIS
£2.513bn £1.016bn ▲
Commodities: Glencore 2021: £1.497bn, 110Rich List 2022 Billionaires
CAMERA PRESS, GETTY IMAGES
The Sunday Times Magazine • 25