Rich List 2017 135-250
187 £ 693 m £ 65 m ▲
SIR PETER WOOD
InsuranceOf the seven insur ance businesses Wood, 70, has created, the
best known is Direct Line, with television adverts featuring the
actor Harvey Keitel. Having made £50m from the operation, his
next big payday came from the float of his Reigate-based Esure
business in 2013, when he sold stock worth £198m. He has
branched out into property, taking a 50% share in Surrey-based
developer Royalton , and has a personal portfolio including two
estates worth a total of $80m in Florida. 2016: £628m, 192188 £ 692 m £ 17 m ▲
DAVID AND JONATHAN ROWLAND
FinanceRowland, 71, and his 41-year-old son Jonathan purchased
Luxembourg’s Banque Havilland at the bottom of the market in
2009 for £183m. In 2015 the private bank’s assets rose nearly
£200m to £1.18bn. It has a £161m stake in Mulberry, the luxury
goods maker controlled by Christina Ong (qv), which saw a £17m
increase. Jonathan’s internet investment company JellyWorks
added £42m to the family coffers when it was sold to the
investment bank Shore Capital in 2000. 2016: £675m, 175=189 £ 680 m £ 3 0m ▲
PETER HARRIS AND FAMILY
Hotels and caravan parksEvery year more than 4m families visit a Butlins, Warner Leisure
or other holiday destination owned by Bourne Leisure, the Hemel
Hempstead business that was founded by Harris, 83 , and the late
father of Colin Allen (qv). Profits reached a record £134.1m on
sales of £951.4m in 2015 and assets grew to almost £300m. We
value the Harris family’s stake in the £1.1bn operation at £400m,
adding a 60% holding in the £300m spread-betting firm
Spreadex. Other interests take Harris, who is also a successful
racehorse owner and trainer, to £680m. 2016: £650m, 182=190 £ 678 m £ 3 m ▲
ROBERT AGOSTINELLI
FinanceNew York-born Agostinelli co-founded the Rhone private equity
and advisory group , which has more than £5bn of client funds
under management. He came to prominence in 2010 when the
operation was one of the potential suitors for Liverpool football
club, offering £118.5m for a 40% stake. Now based in London ,
Agostinelli, 64 later this month, has invested £60m in WeWork,
a n American company providing places for entrepreneurs and
small businesses to work and network. 2016: £675m, 175 =191= £ 675 m £ 25 m ▲
SIR EVELYN AND LADY DE ROTHSCHILD
FinanceThere must have been dismay in the de Rothschild household at
the outcome of the 2016 US presidential election. The couple are
family friends of the Clintons, and de Rothschild’s American wife,
Lynn, 62, fundraised for the unsuccessful Democrat candidate.
The value of the family stake in The Economist was highlighted
by the Pearson group’s sale of its 50% share for £469m in 2015,
with strong profits last year raising the de Rothschilds’ holding in
the publication to £250m. De Rothschild, 85, runs the investment
vehicle EL Rothschild with his wife. 2016: £650m, 182=191= £ 675 m No change ■
BHIKHU AND VIJAY PATEL
PharmaceuticalsArriving in Britain from Kenya in the 1960s, brothers Bhikhu, 69,
and Vijay, 67, had just £5 and a hunger to succeed. Vijay worked
in a chip shop to save for pharmacy college and bought an Essex
chemist in 1975, later teaming up with his architect brother to
form medicine distributor Waymade. They then spun out
Amdipharm from the business, snapping up generic drugs thatwere out of patent. The Patels sold Amdipharm for £367m and
also made a considerable return from the £2.3bn sale of niche
pharmaceutical operation AMCo in 2015. 2016: £675m, 175=193 £ 670 m £ 10 m ▲
JEAN-FRANCOIS DECAUX AND FAMILY
Media and advertisingEarlier this year JCDecaux, the world’s largest outdoor
advertising company, installed its 500th digital screen on a
London bus shelter. The business was founded in Lyons in 1964
by Jean-Claude Decaux, who died in May last year, and is run by
his two sons: London-based Jean-François, 58, controls the UK
operation and oversees northern Europe and Australia, and
Jean-Charles heads the main arm in France, where profits
reached €245m on €2.8bn sales in 2015. 2016: £660m, 180=194 £ 660 m £ 80 m▼
LORD PAUL AND FAMILY
IndustryA number of Paul’s businesses went into administration in late
2015 as a result of the steel industry crisis, and his London-based
Caparo Group, which includes property interests, saw its assets
sink from £77m to £49.6m. Indian-born Paul, 86, owns property
in Buckinghamshire and Switzerland, plus three UK hotels: the
Osborne in Torquay, the Bignell Park in Bicester and the White
Hart in Lincoln. We clip the Pauls to £660m. 2016: £740m, 154=195 £ 655 m £ 167 m ▲
MIKE DANSON
MediaMarket researcher Datamonitor was founded by Danson, 54,
from his London flat with a £5,000 investment. After it sold in
2007 for £502m his proceeds and share sales came to £193m. In
January 2016 his latest venture, Progressive Digital Media,
acquired the London-based healthcare business information
provider GlobalData, whose name it also adopted, for £66.5m.
New Statesman owner Danson has an almost 70% stake in the
operation that is worth £345m, up £167m. 2016: £488m, 239196= £ 650 m No change ■
DAVID BROMILOW
Media and sports equipmentBromilow, 74, made about £600m from selling his stake in sports
company Adidas. Since then the British-born former accountant
has worked with private equity groups on several deals, including
the £51m takeover of Survey Sampling, a US-based information
group, and the £150m sale of his MediMedia publishing business.
He lives in a lakeside villa in Thailand. 2016: £650m, 182=196= £ 650 m No change ■
INNA GUDAVADZE
InheritanceSurrey-based Gudavadze, 71, and her family sold their 87% stake
in the Borjomi mineral water operation to a Russian investor in
2013, when the business was valued at £320m. She is the widow
of the Georgian billionaire “Badri” Patarkatsishvili, who died of a
heart attack at his Surrey mansion in 2008 having amassed
spectacular wealth from diverse sources, including football
assets, gold mines and oil prospects. 2016: £650m, 182=196= £ 650 m No change ■
GEORGE AND CONSTANTINE LOGOTHETIS AND FAMILY
Shipping, property and aviationLibra Group, a Greek shipping operation that has expanded into
property, finance, hospitality, renewables and aviation, is owned
by the Logothetis family, led by London brothers George, 42,
and Constantine, 37. New York resident George became chief
executive of family firm Lomar Shipping at just 19 before going
on to run the group, while London-based Tory donor Constantine
headed its diversification. Between 2008 and 2014 the business
purchased more than $7bn of assets. 2016: £650m, 182=HAPPY CAMPERS:
PETER HARRIS
AND FAMILY
Entry 189, £680mMIKE DANSON
Entry 195, £655mSUREFOOTED:
DAVID BROMILOW
Entry 196=, £650m REX60 • thesundaytimes.co.uk/richlist