Who is the UK’s richest person?

Prolific entrepreneur and inventor Sir James Dyson has topped the Sunday Times Rich List for the first time, after amassing a personal wealth of £3.6bn over the year.

Dyson initially made his fortune with the invention of the bag-less vacuum cleaner, through the company that bares his name. He has since grown the brand into an international icon within the industry.

However, the wealth of the top 1,000 richest people in Britain fell for the first time since the financial crash, down by 3.7% overall.

Previously topping the list, the Hinduja brothers, who are co-chairmen of the India-based conglomerate the Hinduja Group, saw their wealth drop by £6bn in a year while Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who topped the Rich List in 2018, saw his net worth drop the same amount.

List compiler Robert Watts said: “Ever since the financial crisis of 2008-9, Britain’s wealthiest people have become richer and richer.

“COVID-19 has called time on their golden period. This year’s rich list paints a picture of Britain on the brink of calamity – two months after lockdown and already billions of pounds have been wiped out.

“You may not like the super-rich, but it is hard to deny that our economy will need the jobs they create and the taxes they and their companies pay if we are to escape a prolonged recession that causes further misery to millions.”

The Sunday Times Rich List Top 10 (UK-based)

1. Sir James Dyson – £16.2bn
2. Sri and Gopi Hinduja – £16bn
3. David and Simon Reuben – £16bn.
4. Sir Leonard Blavatnik – £15.8bn.
5. Sir Jim Ratcliffe – £12.2bn
6. Kirsten and Jorn Rausing – £12.1bn
7. Alisher Usmanov – £11.7bn
8. Guy, George and Galen Jr Weston – £10.5bn
9. Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken and Michel de Carvalho – £10.3bn
10. The Duke of Westminster – £10.25bn.