Bussiness
Richest person in Scotland revealed in latest Sunday Times Rich List – Scottish Business News
ANDERS Holch Povlsen is the richest person in Scotland, according to this year’s edition of The Sunday Times Rich List, published today online at https://www.thetimes.co.uk/sunday-times-rich-list and in the print edition of the newspaper on Sunday, May 19. Povlsen has many diverse business investments and it is believed he is currently exploring opportunities in the New Space sector.
The 76-page special edition of The Sunday Times Magazine reveals the largest fall in the billionaire count in the guide’s 36-year history, from a peak of 177 in 2022 to 165 this year. This year’s list of 350 individuals and families together hold combined wealth of £795.361 billion — a sum larger than the annual GDP of Poland. Sir Elton John, Lord Lloyd-Webber and David and Victoria Beckham all appear in the annual survey. The minimum entry for the list of 350 this year is £350 million.
David Moulsdale, the founder of the Glasgow-based laser eye surgery business Optical Express, makes his Rich List debut with estimated wealth of £374 million. There is also a place in the annual wealth rankings for Flure Grossart, the daughter of the late Edinburgh financier Sir Angus Grossart.
Robert Watts, compiler of the Sunday Times Rich List, said: “This year’s Sunday Times Rich List suggests Britain’s billionaire boom has come to an end. Many of our home-grown entrepreneurs have seen their fortunes fall and some of the global super rich who came here are moving away.
“Thousands of British livelihoods rely on the super-rich to some extent. We’ll have to wait and see whether we have now reached peak billionaire, and what that means for our economy.
“These may be harder times to create wealth, but The Sunday Times Rich List continues to unearth entrepreneurs building fortunes in diverse and often surprising ways. This year’s new entries include people who have made money from artificial intelligence and virtual worlds as well as plumbing supplies and teaching aides.
“We know many of our readers find such people — especially those from humbler backgrounds — very inspiring.”
THE SUNDAY TIMES RICH LIST 2024 – THE 10 WEALTHIEST IN SCOTLAND
ScotlandRank | Name | Sector | 2024wealth | Wealth increase/decrease |
1 | Anders Holch Povlsen | Fashion: Bestseller and Asos | £6.73bn | Down £1.77bn |
2 | Glenn Gordon and family | Spirits: William Grant and Sons | £5.619bn | Up £1.012bn |
3 | Sir Ian Wood and family | Oil services and fishing: Wood Group | £1.911bn | Up £91m |
4 | Mahdi Al-Tajir | Metals, oil and water: Highland Spring | £1.641bn | Up £4m |
5 | Lady Philomena Clark and family | Car sales: Arnold Clark | £1.581bn | Down £310m |
6 | Sandy and James Easdale | Transport and property: McGill’s | £1.45bn | Up £25m |
7 | The Thomson family | Media: DC Thomson | £1.367bn | Down £90m |
8 | JK Rowling | Novels and films: Harry Potter | £945m | Up £70m |
9 | Sir Brian Souter and Dame Ann Gloag | Transport: Stagecoach Group | £815m | Up £35m |
10 | Lord Laidlaw | Conferences: IIR | £741m | Down £8m |