petty crime, and there is even a failed Liberal
parliamentary candidate among their ranks.
The Rich List may be awash with inspiring examples
of social mobility and entrepreneurial flair, but that
does not mean everyone mentioned wants to be on
it. One Scot has for some years politely stated that
he would rather our list “did not exist”, but that if it
must, then he would like his entry “to be accurate”.
So he diligently sends a precise breakdown of how
his finances have fared over the past 12 months.
His reluctance to appear in the top 1,000 of Britain’s
richest people is not uncommon. Time and time
again, wealthy individuals have politely asked to be
“taken out” of the Rich List. These are usually highly
private people who often have no interest in a public
profile. Money may talk, but wealth whispers.
“I’d prefer to be in the newspapers just three
times in my life,” one Midlands-based entrepreneur
said to me. “When I was born, when I got married
and when I die. But I’ll talk to you because I get what
you’re trying to do and I like it. I’m not ashamed of
what I’ve achieved in my working life and it’s
interesting to see how others are getting on.”
Of course, the Rich List would hardly be the
“definitive guide to wealth” if individuals and families
could pick and choose whether they appeared.
Understanding who is amassing wealth and where it
lies is important for a healthy democracy. That makes
the Rich List not just a bit of entertainment, but also
an important social document — albeit one used
opportunistically by others. HM Revenue & Customs
is known to take more than a passing interest in the
publication. Divorce lawyers, estate agents, auction
houses and charity fundraisers have also spoken of
their enthusiasm for the rankings.
While many of Britain’s super-rich do care
strongly about where they appear on the list, they
often have more pressing worries. Brexit, funnily
enough, was rarely one of their greatest concerns.
The notion that all the business community backed
“remain” is bunk. That may be true of the FTSE
chief executives, who famously “don’t like
uncertainty”, but the Rich List is generally
populated by a very different breed. Risk-taking
entrepreneurs, who have built empires by spotting
opportunities and exploiting shifts in circumstance,
don’t hate change — they thrive on it.
One London property bigwig I met soon after
Britain voted to leave the EU seemed a little
disappointed that there had been no property crash.
He’s sitting pretty on a vast pile of cash and has no
intention of selling any of his buildings, so lower
prices would have been a delight. “There could have
been some great buying opportunities,” he said sadly.
There was more concern about Donald Trump’s
ascendancy to the White House than Brexit. Few
Rich Listers take any joy from a weak Labour Party,
either. A functioning opposition is vital to a
functioning democracy, many said.
When I hear Britain’s wealthiest people talk
quietly about their worries for their children, or their
struggles with a work/life balance, I feel I could be
having a conversation heard in countless offices,
coffee bars or at school gates across the country —
even if the detail is a little out of the ordinary. One
new entry this year suspected that his children had
little idea how well the family business was going and
feared that they may “freak out” to see their family’s
name in the Rich List. “It’s really important to my
wife and I that our children grow up with as ordinary
a childhood as possible. It’s a constant worry,” he
said. It’s a line I’ve heard numerous times.
Many speak openly — such as John Roberts, the
white-goods dealer worth £257m — about giving
away their fortune to charity. Roberts has said his
five children will inherit “nothing”, adding that he
wants them to be “happy” and “normal” in their
chosen careers.
You can see the logic. Many of these people
believe their self-esteem was built by starting with
little and making a mint. Why rob your child of the
chance to do the same? Many Rich Listers seem to
believe there are few better ways to snuff out their
child’s ambition than by handing over a gigantic
cheque on their 18th birthday.
Then there are the concerns over work/life balance,
which are little different from those experienced by
many of us. One Monaco regular remembered a
friend inviting him for drinks on his yacht one evening.
“He’s got a smaller yacht than me, but he’s down
there on the deck enjoying life,” he said. “I’m up here
working until 10 every night. Who’s the mug, eh?”
Are these super-rich Stakhanovites necessarily in
charge of their compulsion to work hard? When you
have built a business empire across industries and
continents, keeping an eye on it all can become
impossible. You must rely on key members of staff.Rich List 2017
The Sunday Times Magazine • 7NATIONAL
CASH REGISTER
CITIES
OF GOLD
130 WOMEN2 CURRENT SPORTSMENNumber of sterling billionaires by countryThe rest of the billionaire countries The rest of the billionaire cities
Number of sterling billionaires by city20 POP STARS38 ARISTOCRATSWHO’S WHO
ON THE LIST
27 Shanghai
21 Seoul
20 Singapore
18 Sao Paulo
18 Taipei
17 Hangzhou
14 Dallas14 Delhi
14 Istanbul
14 Tokyo
13 Bangkok
13 Guangzhou
12 Milan27 Italy
22 Australia
22 Japan
22 Taiwan
21 South Korea
20 Singapore
18 Spain17 Turkey
13 Thailand
13 United Arab Emirates
12 Mexico
11 Indonesia
11 Philippines
11 SwedenUnited States
China
UK
India
Germany
Russia
Switzerland
France
Canada
Brazil
445
284
134
76
74
67
55
48
28
27
London
New York
San Francisco
Hong Kong
Moscow
Beijing
Los Angeles
Mumbai
Paris
Shenzhen
86
74
60
59
58
41
41
33
33
29