The Sunday Times Magazine – 7 May 2017

607= £ 185 m No change ■

STING

Music

Wallsend doesn’t have many claims to fame. The fact

that it marks the end of Hadrian’s Wall is one of them.

The Tyneside town is also the birthplace of Gordon

Sumner, aka global superstar and humanitarian Sting,

so-called for the black-and-yellow jumper he wore when

he was still a school teacher playing jazz gigs around the

northeast, which a fellow musician said made him look

like a wasp. The son of a milkman and a hairdresser,

Sting has sold more than 100 m records and won 16

Grammy s , five Brits and a Golden Globe.

He has also made a lot of money, both with the Police

and as a solo artist. Now 65, he is midway through a tour

to promote his album 57th & 9th. He says he “adores”

being on the road and the road adores him back: his

North American tour last year with Peter Gabriel pulled

in $28m and the 152-date Police reunion tour in 2007-08

was reckoned to gross $360m. Sting has warned his six

children not to expect to inherit fortunes, believing

wealth can be an “albatross”. He and film producer wife,

Trudie Styler, 63, own properties in New York, Tuscany,

Malibu and the Lake District. 2016: £185m, 564=

JOHN KING

Pharmaceuticals 2016: £190m, 557=

ALAN MURPHY

Paper products and property

Monaco resident Murphy, 68, started AM Paper, turning tissue

into toilet rolls. In 1997 Merseyside’s “bog-roll king” sold part of his

stake for £100m, and two years later sold the rest for £50m. He is

one of the main backers of Manchester-based property group

Nikal , which has projects worth £600m. Murphy’s daughter is

Davinia Taylor, a star of TV soap Hollyoaks. 2016: £190m, 557=

DAVID AND HEATHER STEVENS

Insurance

Stevens, 55, replaced Henry Engelhardt (qv) as chief executive of

Cardiff-based car insurer Admiral, a business he helped to set up.

Its shares have been hit by the Brexit vote, cutting Stevens’s

stake to £177m. His wife, Heather, 59, was high sheriff of South

Glamorgan in 2015-16. The couple transferred £100m of shares

to their Waterloo Foundation charity in 2007. 2016: £200m, 515=

SANJAY VADERA AND FAMILY

Perfume

Vadera, 49, created Manchester-based Per-Scent, winning the

custom of Asda, Superdrug, Tesco and The Perfume Shop.

Vadera sold 65% in 2005, netting £42m, and bought The

Fragrance Shop a year later for £20m. 2016: £180m, 582=

NICOLAS WALEWSKI

Hedge fund 2016: £180m, 582=

606 £ 188 m ■

THE DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH

Land and art

Blenheim Palace houses artworks by Van Dyck, Reynolds and

Romney. Marlborough, 61, is set to become the “Duke of Mortar”

with his plans to build 1,600 homes on the Oxfordshire estate ,

which along with its assets is worth £188m. 2016: £183m, 575=

607= £ 185 m ■

ANGUS BALL

Insurance 2016: £220m, 460=

JOHN BERKLEY AND FAMILY

Mobile homes and property 2016: £175m, 598=

GEORGE AND DAPHNE BURNETT

Construction equipment 2016: £155m, 670=

PETER GADSBY

Construction

East Midlands developer Gadsby, 68, is a driving force behind

Infinity Park, a technology and engineering hub outside Derby

that aims to create 8,000 jobs. He sold his stake in the Birch

property group for £40m in 2000. Profits at his venture capital

division, Ark Capital, rose to £7.1m in 2015. 2016: £155m, 670=

STUART MONK AND FAMILY

Property 2016: £185m, 564=

KEITH MORRIS

Insurance 2016: £220m, 460=

DARREN RIDGE

Telecoms 2016: £140m, 734=

JOHN STONE

Finance 2016: £190m, 557=

616 £ 184 m ■

TONY FERNANDES

Aviation

Malaysian Fernandes was the financial controller for Sir Richard

Branson’s (qv) Virgin Records in London. He took over AirAsia,

floating it in 2004, and it is worth £1.6bn. Fernandes, 53, once bet

Branson that his F1 team would beat the tycoon’s drivers at the

Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Branson lost and dressed as a lipstick-

wearing air stewardess on the rival airline. 2016: £162m, 636=

617= £ 183 m ■

WILLIAM LLOYD AND FAMILY

Animal feed and poultry 2016: £148m, 712=

JEREMY PILKINGTON AND FAMILY

Equipment hire 2016: £148m, 712=

MICHAEL STONE AND FAMILY

Finance

Since retiring 17 years ago, Stone, 80 on Wednesday, enjoys

shooting pheasants at Ozleworth Park, his Gloucestershire

estate. He turned ED&F Man into a leading London hedge fund,

now called Man Group , before leaving with a £150m stake. He has

a £23.4m holding in Gamma Communicatio ns. 2016: £179m, 593

620= £ 182 m ■

CHARLES DAVIES

Finance 2016: £182m, 577=

Rich List 2017 501-750

The Sunday Times Magazine • 115

ON A ROLL:

ALAN MURPHY

Entry 598=, £190m

“I told them,

there won’t

be much

money le

because

we are

spending

it. What

comes in we

spend”

STING

GETTY; ALAMY

The Sunday Times Magazine • 115