Rich List 2021 Young 50
Young Rich List 202224= CHARLIE MORGAN
£40m New entry ★
Drinks: AU VodkaBling kings Ronaldinho, the football superstar, and the boxer Floyd
Mayweather are among the celebrities lining up to be snapped with
AU Vodka’s flashy gold bottles. Schoolfriends Charlie Morgan, 26,
and Jackson Quinn (qv), 29, launched the Swansea-based drinks
label in 2016 and really got the party started in December 2019,
shifting 10,000 bottles of black grape vodka — more than in the
previous 11 months combined. AU orders soared during the
pandemic. “There were obviously a lot of lockdown parties going
on,” Morgan said. A tie-up with the star DJ Charlie Sloth, 40, has
brought celebrity clout and deals with Tesco and Morrisons topped
up sales to £45 million last year. With profits of £15 million the
business is easily worth £100 million, valuing each founder’s stake at
£39.6 million. There have been a few spills over the years: manuka
honey, chocolate orange and banana-flavoured vodka failed the taste
test. “The banana one was particularly disgusting,” Quinn admitted. 24= JACKSON QUINN
£40m New entry ★
Drinks: AU Vodka27 ED BECCLE
£39m New entry ★
Internet: GlorifyBeccle, 23, was daydreaming in church when he was struck by the
idea for Glorify. The app helps Christians to connect with God via
“bite-sized Bible passages” offering a free basic service and a fuller
£6.99-a-month version. Of more than 2.5 million downloads, most
daily users are based in the US and Brazil. Demand surged during
the pandemic as churches closed, and devout celebrities have
invested in London-based Glorify, including the Canadian singer
Michael Bublé. Beccle is diabetic and his search for a tutor during
his Oxford schooldays led to his first venture, Grasp, which was
sold last year. In 2019 he launched Glorify with his friend Henry
Costa, 35, the son of Ken Costa, the South African who once led the
investment titan Lazard. Glorify had a $250 million (£185.2 million)
valuation last year and Beccle and Costa retain at least 20 per cent,
worth £37 million each — before the app is even profitable.28 ZAYN MALIK
£36m No change ■
Music 2021: £36m, 22=29 DAN AND JEMMA MIDDLETON
£35m £3m ▲
Vlogging: Diamond Minecart 2021: £32m, 2830 SAM SMITH
£34m £1m ▲
Music 2021: £33m, 26=31 VIRGIL VAN DIJK
£33m £7m ▲
Football: Liverpool 2021: £26m, 32=32 WILLIAM VAUGHAN
£30m New entry ★
Paddleboards: Bluefish SUP33 LUKE SHAW
£28m £4m ▲
Football: Manchester United 2021: £24m, 36=34 ALEXANDRE LACAZETTE
£27m £5m ▲
Football: Arsenal 2021: £22m, 39=35= ROBERTO FIRMINO
£26m £5m ▲
Football: Liverpool 2021: £21m, 4135= STORMZY
£26m £2m ▲
MusicThe 6ft 5in king of grime welled up during a gig in Newcastle in
March. “I made a promise to fans and to God that I’m never going to
take this for granted,” he said, relieved that his delayed 2019 Heavy
Is the Head tour had begun. The Croydon-born 28-year-old’s biggest
run of shows yet will have paid well, along with a December date
at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Although there has been no new solo
music of late, Stormzy has had collaborations with Little Mix and
the rappers Ghetts and Dave. His status as a cultural icon is yet to
translate to huge sales. He has 2.4 million followers on Spotify
compared with nearly 100 million for Ed Sheeran (qv). Stormzy — full
name Michael Ebeneer Kwadjo Omari Owuo Jr — first performed at
11 and worked briefly at an oil refinery in Southampton. He released
his first EP, Dreamers Disease, in 2014, winning best grime act at
the Mobo awards, and soon entered the mainstream. Stormzy has
vowed to give £10 million through his #Merky Foundation over ten
years to improve racial equality. In 2018 he set up a scholarship
programme for black students at Cambridge University and last
year pledged £2 million with HSBC to fund more. 2021: £24m, 36=Wabara is outscoring his former footballing rivals by chasing
a fashion fortune against the run of play. He signed for
Manchester City’s youth side at 16 and earned five England
U20 caps. But finding himself on loan to Ipswich Town,
Doncaster Rovers and Oldham, he started having other ideas.
Inspiration came from his Bromsgrove schoolfriends Ben
Francis and Lewis Morgan (both qv), who had already started
Gymshark, the athleisurewear brand that soon became a
£1 billion business. “I always had a way of dressing that was
different and Lewis said to me, ‘You should do something in
fashion,’” said Wabara, 30. In 2013, while still on Manchester
City’s books, he founded Manière De Voir — meaning “a way
of seeing” — with £15,000, five weeks’ earnings at the time.
Marketed as the streetwear brand MDV, the £30 million
Manchester-based label quickly gained female fans with a
range that accounted for three quarters of its £23.7 million
sales in 2020. Wabara quit sport in 2017 and hasn’t looked
back. He owns 83 per cent of MDV and has other wealth.35= REECE WABARA
£26m New entry ★
Football and fashion: Manière De Voir@REECE WABARA/INSTAGRAM
Reece Wabara has shed
his football kit for more
stylish threads. His label
started off in men’s
fashion but now most
of its sales are from its
women’s collectionVODKA TONIC
Entry 24=, £40mThe Sunday Times Magazine • 53