Kristo Kaarmann, left,
and Taavet Hinrikus cut
out the middleman to
build their money
transfer service188 LUKE AND BRIAN COMER
£909m £3m ▲
Property 2021: £906m, 179189 LORD AND LADY CRUDDAS
£907m £414m ▼
Finance 2021: £1.321bn, 127190 SIR ROGER AND PETER DE HAAN
£905m £5m ▲
Travel and insurance: Saga 2021: £900m, 180190 THE DUKE OF DEVONSHIRE
£900m £5m ▲
Land and art 2021: £895m, 182=191= BEN FRANCIS AND FAMILY
£900m £200m ▲
Sportswear: GymsharkGym bunny Francis, 29, set up Gymshark athleisurewear with Lewis
Morgan (qv, Young Rich List). Lockdown’s home workouts boosted
sales at the Solihull-based brand by about half, making it worth £1.25
billion and Francis’s 70 per cent worth £875 million. We add another
£25 million for share sales and other assets, including a farm in the
Cotswolds. Francis married Robin Gallant, 31, a Canadian personal
trainer, in September. 2021: £700m, 226=191= ELLIS SHORT
£900m £20m ▲
Finance 2021: £880m, 186194 MO IBRAHIM
£889m £92m ▲
Mobile phones 2021: £797m, 202=195 GERALD RONSON AND FAMILY
£887m £152m ▲
Property and fuel distribution 2021: £735m, 219196 PETER AND ANNA MARGARET SMEDVIG AND FAMILY
£880m £8m ▲
Shipping, oil and gas services 2021: £872m, 188198= SIR PAUL MCCARTNEY AND NANCY SHEVELL
£865m £45m ▲
Music and transport 2021: £820m, 196=See panel, page 40200 MANFRED GORVY AND FAMILY
£861m £60m ▼
Property and food 2021: £921m, 176201 SIR PETER WOOD
£860m £45m ▲
Insurance: esure 2021: £815m, 198202 JOANNE ROWLING
£850m £30m ▲
Novels and filmsAlthough some have cursed her statements on transgender issues,
Rowling remains one of the world’s highest-earning authors, having
sold more than 500 million Harry Potter books. Her sixth Cormoran
Strike story is due out in August. Bristol-born Rowling, 56, has
magicked up £200 million from films, and spin-off wizardry continues.
Her £75 million Volant Trust gave away £6.7 million last year, including
£3.8 million for Covid relief. Lumos, her international charity, is
helping child victims of the war in Ukraine. 2021: £820m, 196=198= KRISTO KAARMANN
£865m New entry ★
Finance: WiseFees and fines have shaped Kaarmann’s life. In 2008 the
Estonian received a £10,000 bonus while working as a
management consultant for Deloitte in London. He transferred
the money back to his homeland only to find his UK bank had
given him an unfavourable exchange rate — and whacked on
a £15 fee. The transaction left Kaarmann £500 down and
inspired him to join forces with Taavet Hinrikus (qv), a fellow
Estonian paid in kroons who had to convert his wages into
sterling to pay his rent.
“We were both sick of losing money to our banks,”
Kaarmann said. “We were losing thousands to hidden
mark-ups and I didn’t like it then and I still don’t like it.” The
pair started swapping money between their accounts in
Britain and Estonia, cutting out the middleman and using the
day’s exchange rate. This would be the start of their money
transfer service Wise, initially called TransferWise. Sir Richard
Branson (qv), Peter Thiel, a co-founder of PayPal, and Skype’s
Niklas Zennstrom (qv) have invested in the business, which
floated on the London stock market last July.
Kaarmann still owns 18.2 per cent of Wise — a stake worth
£824.5 million. Share sales at the float and in 2017 should add
another £40 million.
Large financial penalties have again become a part of his
life. Kaarmann, 41, was last year placed on a list of “deliberate
tax defaulters” by HM Revenue & Customs for failing to pay
a historic bill for £720,495. He was hit with a £365,651 fine —
a sum that makes those early bank charges look rather
modest. After the fine was imposed a Wise spokesman said
that Kaarmann has since “devoted more time to keeping his
personal admin in order”.
REX
The Sunday Times Magazine • 39