Rich List 2017 501-750
PETER HORTON AND FAMILY
PropertyHortons’ Estate has been praised for its £14m restoration of
Birmingham’s historic Grand hotel, which included repairs to its
listed facade. The property company, which is based in the West
Midlands city, made £6.5m profit on £12.3m sales in the year to
September 2015. Horton, 47, is chairman. 2016: £140m, 734=DAVID MCMULLEN AND FAMILY
BrewingIn 1827 Peter McMullen was a poacher and failed apprentice until
wife Sarah prompted him to found a brewery that year. Hertford-
based McMullen & Sons saw profits grow to £16.1m on £75.4m
sales in 2015, with £132.9m net assets. The family is represented
here by former chairman McMullen, 72. 2016: £145m, 721=ANWAR AND YAKUB PATEL
Pharmacies 2016: £145m, 721=JULIAN AND ROSIE RICHER
RetailingRicher opened his first hi-fi shop near London Bridge aged 19
and now has 53 Richer Sounds stores, where profits hit £6.5m on
£154.8m sales in 2015-16. Richer and his wife, Rosie, both 58, own
the £80m outfit, which they have pledged to leave to employees
to run as a John Lewis-style co-operative. 2016: £140m, 734=BILL ROBERTSON AND FAMILY
Construction 2016: £105m, 936=BARBARA TAYLOR BRADFORD
NovelsTaylor Bradford, 84 on Wednesday, has sold more than 90m
books in 90 countries but remains best known for the first, A
Woman of Substance. Ten books have been made into TV mini
series or movies for the small screen. The writer, who started in
the typing pool on her local newspaper in Leeds at the age of just
15, was researching a new novel last year. 2016: £149m, 711JONATHAN AND LESLEY WILD AND FAMILY
Tea and coff eeBettys & Taylors was founded in 1919 when Swiss confectioner
Frederick Belmont arrived in Yorkshire, married a local girl and
set up his first tearoom. Today the group has six cafes, runs a
craft bakery and operates tea and coffee merchant Taylors of
Harrogate , whose products include Yorkshire Tea, the nation’s
third bestselling brew. The group , which made £9.6m profit on
£163.4m sales in 2014-15, is owned by Wild and his wife Lesley,
both 64, who also chairs the business. 2016: £155m, 670=735= £ 154 m ■
SIR ROBERT OGDEN
PropertyOgden, 81, led the first development in London’s Canary Wharf
and made his fortune when prices soared in the once desolate
area. The son of a builder and eldest of six children, Ogden set up
a company supplying quarrying material and later went into site
clearance. He gives university scholarships to children from poor
backgrounds and is also part-funding a cancer treatment centre
at Friarage Hospital in Northallerton. 2016: £154m, 677=DOUGLAS PARK AND FAMILY
Transport and car sales 2016: £146m, 718=737 £ 153 m ■
TED FORT
Engineering 2016: £158m, 665738= £ 152 m ■
JAMES HOLDER
Fashion See panel, page 90NIK KOTECHA AND FAMILY
Pharmaceuticals New entryPETER AND ELIZABETH PROWTING AND FAMILY
Property 2016: £151m, 684SIR TIM RICE
Music“I’m always optimistic about creativity in Britain, but even more so
now we’re leaving the EU,” Rice said last year. The lyricist recently
became a father again in his seventies. Rice made his fortune in a
creative partnership with Lord Lloyd-Webber (qv), joining forces
at EMI Records in the mid-1960s to write the lyrics for Joseph
and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar
and Evita. His main company, Heartaches, has paid him £17m in
recent years. Rice, 72, has invested his earnings in his art
collection, including two Rembrandts, homes in London and
Cornwall and a 33,000-acre Scottish estate. 2016: £150m, 685=TONY TRAVIS AND FAMILY
Building suppliesNorthampton-based builders’ merchant Travis Perkins is valued
at £3.68bn. Former chairman Travis, 74 next Thursday, is still a
leading shareholder, with a stake worth £70m, down £10m on last
year. Past dividends, share sales and a £25m holding in the malt
producer Ragleth put the family on £152m. 2016: £160m, 640=743= £ 151 m ■
DUNCAN CAMERON
InternetCameron, 45, has turned to motor racing after picking up £162m
for most of his stake in Chester-registered online comparison site
Moneysupermarket from co-founder Simon Nixon (qv), and is set
to drive a Ferrari in the Le Mans 24 Hours. Cameron, who se car
collection includes a 1920s Alfa Romeo , is expected to launch a
“robo-adviser” investment business, eVestor. 2016: £150m, 685=DOUGLAS CRAIG AND FAMILY
Fishing and oil servicesCraig, 67, is chairman of Aberdeen-based Craig Group, where
profits fell sharply to £10.6m on sales of £163.9m in 2015-16,
although assets rose to £205.5m. Originally a family fishing firm,
the £140m company focuses on stand-by vessels and oil support
operations in the North Sea, Africa and the US. 2016: £163m, 635TOM CROSS AND FAMILY
Oil, gas and property 2016: £150m, 685=IRVING WEAVER
Construction 2016: £146m, 718=COLIN AND CHRIS WEIR
LotteryThe Weirs are Britain’s richest lottery winners. Colin, 69, is a
retired television cameraman , while his wife, Chris, 61, worked as
a psychiatric nurse until they won the EuroMillions lottery jackpot
of £161.6m in 2011. The couple, from Largs in North Ayrshire, are
big donors: they recently handed £1m to the National Theatre of
Scotland, have given millions to the Scottish National Party and
endowed the Weir Charitable Trust with £5m. 2016: £153m, 680748= £ 150 m ■
THE DUKE OF BEAUFORT
Land and artAs many as 200,000 spectators visit the Badminton estate over
three days of horse trials every May. The 89-year-old Beaufort,
who lives on the 52,000-acre holding, joined Marlborough Fine
Art in 1947 and chairs the Mayfair operation, which made £2.8m
profit on £49.4m sales in 2015. The 11th Duke could earn millions
if a £280m Circuit of Wales MotoGP track is built on his land
above Ebbw Vale and is battling to put a wind farm in the Mynydd
y Gwair valley, where he owns 4,000 acres. 2016: £146m, 718=JAN COLAM AND FAMILY
Fishing 2016: £150m, 685=ANTHONY AND GRAHAM COOMBS AND FAMILY
Finance New entryStar signs of
the richest
1,000
Where knownJONATHAN AND LESLEY
WILD AND FAMILY
GETTY; ALAMY Entry 723=, £155m
Gemini 120
Leo 102
Sagittarius 101
Taurus 100
Aries 96
Virgo 93
Aquarius 90
Pisces 89
Cancer 87
Libra 86
Capricorn 80
Scorpio 72
The Sunday Times Magazine • 123