Rich List 2017 Billionaires
71= £1.726bn £820m ▲
SCOTT FARQUHAR
SoftwareFarquhar, 37, and his business partner Mike Cannon-Brookes (qv)
met at New South Wales University and in 2002 founded
software operation Atlassian, financing it on a credit card. Their
workflow-management products such as Jira are used by more
than 60,000 companies worldwide, including heavyweights such
as Facebook and Citigroup. The pair, who run Atlassian between
them, moved to London and in late 2015 floated the business on
New York’s Nasdaq. Sydney-born Farquhar’s 37% holding in the
£4.76bn enterprise is valued at £1.726bn. 2016: £906m, 124=73= £1.7bn No change ■
CLIVE CALDER
MusicJohannesburg-born Calder co-founded the leading independent
record label Zomba, which he sold in 2002 to music giant BMG in
a deal that netted him £1.23bn. The 70-year-old British citizen
lives in the Cayman Islands and has seen his wealth grow to
£1.7bn, despite his charitable activities. 2016: £1.7bn, 62=75 £1.67bn £65m▼
MAHDI AL-TAJIR
Metals, oil and waterBahrain-born al-Tajir paid a £2.1m ransom when his brother was
kidnapped in 1986. Four years later his Buckinghamshire mansion
was robbed by an armed gang that stole £5m of antiques, and a
wing of the house was later destroyed in a fire that caused £50m
of damage. In the UK he has interests in metal, oil and gas trading,
as well as a huge portfolio held through Drift Properties, with
£227m net assets in 2015. He also owns the Scottish bottled
water operation Highland Spring, which turned in a £4.3m profit
on record sales of £103m in 2015. Tajir, 85, has a palatial London
home and a 24,000-acre Perthshire estate. 2016: £1.735bn, 6076 £1.62bn £340m ▲
TROND MOHN AND MARIT MOHN WESTLAKE
IndustryAs Norway’s top taxpayer, Mohn pays his dues “with joy”. In 2015
he stumped up £30m on earnings of £84m. “I have no regrets. I
am privileged and am proud of my contribution, and proud to
contribute to the community,” he said. Born in Scotland, the
74-year-old owns one of Norway’s leading industrial fortunes
along with his sister Marit Westlake, 70, who lives in London. Their
money is derived from Framo, a company manufacturing cargo
pumps for tankers, which was started by their late father, Frank,
in 1938. The family sold the business to the Swedish industrial
giant Alfa Laval for £1.1bn in April 2014, on the cusp of a collapse
in both the oil and shipping industries. 2016: £1.28bn, 84=77= £1.6bn £1bn ▲
TELIS MISTAKIDIS
CommoditiesMistakidis, 55, should no longer have any worries about paying for
the £46m Belgravia flat he bought in early 2015, just before the
share price of Glencore, where he heads the copper business,
went into freefall. With it went the British and Greek citizen’s
billionaire status in last year’s Rich List but its shares have soared
and the Swiss-based commodities giant is now worth £45.5bn,
valuing his holding at £1.492bn. 2016: £600m, 197=77= £1.6bn £50m ▲
DOUGLAS AND DAME MARY PERKINS AND FAMILY
OpticiansSales at Specsavers rose by nearly 6% to £2.18bn in 2015-16,
clearing £2bn for the first time. Founded in 1984 by Perkins, 74,
and his wife, Mary, 73, the company sold 19.5m pairs of glasses,
400m contact lenses and 281,000 hearing aids in the last
reported year. However, their business is probably better known
for the “Should’ve gone to Specsavers” ads that have featuredJohn Cleese reprising his Basil Fawlty alter ego. The operation
has trademarked the terms “should’ve” and “shouldve”. Mary,
who frequently visits the stores, sometimes in disguise, was
made a dame in the Queen’s 2007 birthday honours list. The
2015 float of rival GrandVision, parent of Vision Express, for
£3.7bn warrants a £1.6bn valuation for Specsavers. The two
founders still live in the four-bedroom house in Guernsey that
they acquired more than 35 years ago. 2016: £1.55bn, 6677= £1.6bn £160m ▲
SIR IAN WOOD AND FAMILY
Oil services and fishingThe fortunes of Aberdeen-based Wood Group have ebbed and
flowed over the past few years, but as the oil price has recovered
slightly so have its shares, making the business worth £3.17bn.
Wood, 74, is widely seen as the architect of the Granite City’s oil
and gas boom, having taken over the running of what was then a
small North Sea fishing firm in 1964. His JW Holdings fishing
operation showed assets of £18.5m in 2015, and his hotel and pub
businesses are also performing well. The Woods have given away
more than £8m to their foundation, which helps the poor in
Scotland and sub-Saharan Africa. 2016: £1.44bn, 7280 £1.594bn £164m ▲
BENZION FRESHWATER AND FAMILY
PropertyFreshwater, 69, and his family own 80% of £1bn London property
group Daejan Holdings, whose portfolio includes Africa House,
Berwick House and other prize sites across the capital. Three
separate main companies, Highdorn, Metropolitan Properties
and Centremanor, had £1.352bn combined net assets, but we cut
these to £700m to allow for double counting and any charitable
stakes. Other family wealth adds £94m. 2016: £1.43bn, 73=73= £1.7bn No change ■
MOHAMED AL FAYED AND FAMILY
Retailing“I pay my
taxes with
joy. I am
proud of my
contribution
and proud to
contribute
to the
community’’
TROND MOHNThe landmark Ritz Paris hotel reopened
last June after £200m of renovations.
Owned by al-Fayed, the 119-year-old
hotel had been closed since 2012 and is
perhaps the last crown jewel in his empire.
The son of a teacher, he was born in Egypt
and began his working life selling drinks
on the street. His big break came when he
launched his own shipping business and
became an adviser to the Sultan of Brunei.
Fayed sold Knightsbridge department
store Harrods in 2010 for £1.5bn to Qatari
Holdings, an offshoot of the Gulf state’ssovereign wealth fund, pocketing £900m
after borrowings. Three years later he
sold Fulham football club to an American
entrepreneur, with the transaction valuing
the operation at up to £200m. In Scotland
he is known as “Mohamed of the Glen”
and often wears a kilt on his 65,000-acre
Balnagown estate, which makes its own
whisky. The family received at least
£368m in dividends from Harrods. Fayed
paid £10m for the Ritz and given the huge
premium on luxury hotels, it should now
be worth £500m. 2016: £1.7bn, 62=
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