Rich List 2017 251-500
271= £ 460 m £ 10 m ▲
ANTHONY LYONS
PropertyLyons, 49, runs a US operation that offers money-saving lighting
solutions to clients such as BP, Ferrari, Ford and Shell. Now based
in the Bahamas after selling a Hampstead home for £43m, Lyons
previously did well from London property , including the sale with
his partners of half of Earls Court and Olympia in a deal valued at
£380m. They sold the remainder later. 2016: £450m, 255=273 £ 457 m £ 57 m ▲
CRISTINA STENBECK
MediaNew York-born Stenbeck, 39, stepped down as head of Sweden’s
Kinnevik media and telecoms group in June last year. She is
married to British businessman Alex Fitzgibbons, whose events
management company Fait Accompli organised the Buckingham
Palace party for Prince William’s wedding. 2016: £400m, 280=274 £ 456 m £ 76 m ▲
THOMAS MACKIE AND FAMILY
Electrical goodsKenilworth-based CEF was founded in 1951 by a former wartime
RAF radio operator. It is the UK’s largest electrical wholesaler and
is run by Mackie, 29, the founder’s grandson. Profits at its parent
company sparked up to £84.6m on £510.6m sales in 2015-16. The
family is mainly based in Switzerland. 2016: £380m, 295=264= £ 470 m £ 27 m ▲
ANDREW NISBET AND FAMILY
Catering equipmentNisbet, 56, started his business selling knives, clothing and
catering textbooks in 1983. The Bristol-based operation, which is
a key supplier in the industry, has 19 Nisbets stores, and internet
and mail order sales of 20,000-plus products to 100 countries.
Profits rose to £35m on £320m turnover in 2016 and it is worth
£430m, with other assets adding £40m. 2016: £443m, 261264= £ 470 m £ 10 m▼
ROY RICHARDSON AND FAMILY
PropertyThe Richardson family has been in the property business for six
decades and was headed by Roy, 87, and his twin brother Don,
who died in 2007. The next generation is taking the helm at
Oldbury-based Richardson Capital, whose s chemes include a
50% stake in the £600m regeneration of the former Ravenscraig
steel plant near Motherwell and the redevelopment of Freemans
Reach, part of Durham’s Riverside. 2016: £480m, 243=267 £ 469 m £ 1 m▼
MIKE LYNCH
SoftwareLynch, 51, has raised $1bn for his venture capital fund Invoke
Capital — while also being sued for £3.4bn. He sold software firm
Autonomy to HP for £6.5bn but the tech giant took legal action,
claiming he “engaged in fraudulent activities”. Lynch counter sued
for more than £100m. A Cambridge graduate from the East End of
London, he had a stake in Autonomy worth £489m, but amid the
legal uncertainty we value him at £469m. 2016: £470m, 248=268 £ 468 m £ 16 m▼
RAY KELVIN
FashionKelvin, 61, refuses to have his whole face photographed in public
and insists that everyone must hug him before head office
meetings. The Middlesex Polytechnic dropout opened his first
Ted Baker store in Glasgow in 1987 after coming up with the idea
while fishing. He floated the fashion retail business in 1997 and
sold £5m worth of shares in 2015, retaining a £410m stake in the
London operation. He has additional assets. 2016: £484m, 241270 £ 465 m £ 45 m ▲
MICHAEL SHANLY
ConstructionShanly, 71, owns Shanly Group, a Beaconsfield-based business
that has completed more than 1,000 development sites in
southeast England. The two largest Shanly companies, Sorbon
Homes and Sorbon Investments, made nearly £60m on sales of
£177m in 2015-16, with combined assets of almost £300m , a rise
of about £50m. The Shanly Foundation has donated more than
£10m to schools and other good causes. 2016: £420m, 273=271= £ 460 m £ 160 m ▲
DAVID AND JACQUELINE GOLD
Lingerie, property and footballGold, 80, was an entrepreneurial child, helping his mother sell
buttons from a stall outside their East End home. He began his
business with a bookstall in London’s Charing Cross before
branching into publishing, printing and distribution. He later took
control of the adult products retailer Ann Summers, run by
daughter Jacqueline, 56. He made a tidy sum from the sale of
Birmingham City football club in 2009 and owns a 35% stake in
West Ham, which he bought with David Sullivan (qv), whom he
also helped launch the Daily Sport newspaper, later selling the
tabloid for £50m in 2007. The Gold family’s holding company,
which encompasses Ann Summers, Knickerbox, Greenwich
House Properties and his airline business Gold Aviation, made a
small loss of £138,000 but recorded £80m net assets in 2014-15.
Gold and his daughter both live in Surrey. 2016: £300m, 350=Owen-Jones rose from the shop floor to
head one of the biggest companies in
France. After school at Uppingham and
his Oxford University studies he joined
French beauty business L’Oréal in 1969 as
a sales rep selling shampoo in Normandy,
and over the next few decades was
credited with building the Bettencourt
family business into the world’s leading
cosmetics company.
In 2003 Wallasey-born Owen-Jones,
71, received an £80m gift from the
Bettencourts (“Because you’re worth it”)
for his role in polishing up the fortune.Owen-Jones finally retired as honorary
president in 2013, having ascended
through the ranks to become chief
executive from 1984 until 2006.
Since retirement he has enjoyed more
time sailing, winning the prestigious
Giraglia Rolex Cup trophy in St Tropez
with his 100ft yacht Magic Carpet Cubed.
He can afford such a hobby as his
salaries and options were as high as
£30m a year. His stake in L’Oréal, if it has
not been sold, would be worth £360m.
After share sales, we still value him
at £467m. 2016: £467m, 251269 £ 467 m No change ■
SIR LINDSAY OWEN-JONES
Beauty products“My kids
certainly
aren’t going
to have the
money.
They don’t
need it”
PETER JONESGETTY; REX; ALAMY; ALEX MAGUIRE; PA
The Sunday Times Magazine • 79The wind’s behind him: Sir
Lindsay Owen-Jones, a keen
sailor, owns the yacht Magic
Carpet Cubed