Sussex's richest people – and how they made their money

It shows Britain's super-rich have lost more than £54 billion in the past two months amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The combined wealth of the UK's 1,000 richest people has plummeted for the first time since the financial crash of 2008, with some billionaires counting losses of up to £6 billion since last year.

The list says that a number of billionaires have also sought to use the Government's emergency furlough scheme, under which staff are paid 80 per cent of their salary by the state up to £2,500 a month.

Inventor Sir James Dyson, 72, is the richest person in the UK for the first time, as the Brexit-backing entrepreneur saw his wealth grow by £3.6 billion over the past year, climbing to £16.2 billion.

He was helped by the declining fortune of the Hinduja brothers, who suffered losses of £6 billion since last year and dropped into second place.

There were a record 25 female billionaires on this year's list, which estimates the wealthiest thousand people in the UK based on shares, land, property and art, but does not include the amount in bank accounts.

Here, we take a look at the big players with connections to Sussex – and how they made their fortunes.

Keith Richards

Wealth: £270m

Rich list ranking: 481

At 481 on this year’s list is Keith Richards, who had a property in West Wittering. The-76-year old Rolling Stones guitarist has increased his fortune by £10 million.

Richards vowed to give up smoking in October and almost gave up drinking alcohol in 2018.

The Sunday Times said Sixteen shows played by the Rolling Stones took £143m receipts at an average price of £177 a ticket during 2019.

Lord Ashcroft and family

Wealth: £1.2 billion

Rich list ranking: 123

Lord Ashcroft, 74, was born in Chichester and amassed his fortune in cleaning and security. He is no longer a sitting Tory peer. He has several businesses, co-owns the £2,300-a-year private members’ Devonshire Club in London, and his collection of 200 Victoria Crosses, held at the Imperial War Museum’s Lord Ashcroft Gallery, is worth £50 million.

The Times said insolvencies and stock market turmoil have reduced his wealth, down £80 million on last year.

The Duke of Richmond and Gordon and Family

Wealth: £228 million

Rich list ranking: 537

The 11th Duke of Richmond and Gordon, otherwise known as Charles Gordon-Lennox, 65, has increased his family’s fortune by £2 million this year.

Turnover at the family’s Goodwood estate passed £100 million for the first time in 2018, propelled by the Goodwood Revival, the Festival of Speed and the Goodwood horseracing festival.

He also owns a very valuable car collection.

Simon Fuller

Wealth: £445 million

Rich list ranking: 300

Simon Fuller, 60, is a music mogul who grew up in Hastings. He is the man behind the TV Show American Idol.

He owns XIX Entertainment, a company that has managed the Spice Girls, Andy Murray and David Beckham.

He was given an honorary degree from Brighton University in 2014.

Mr Fuller is 300th on the country’s rich list this year. His fortune is £10 million down from the year before, when he ranked 298th.

Earlier this year he sold his Los Angeles estate, complete with a spa, pool, and guest house, for £21.9m.

The list’s compilers said Fuller’s heavy investment in new projects has seen his fortune shrink by £10 million.

Sir Paul McCartney and Nancy Shevell

Wealth: more than £800 million

Rich list ranking: 174

This year Sir Paul McCartney has reportedly increased his wealth by £50 million, gaining him a place in the top 10 of the annual music rich list.

The 77-year-old Beatles star is isolating at home in Rye with his daughter Mary and her family.

He has been the wealthiest musician on the list for several years.

As well as revenue from concerts, he receives earnings from his back catalogue with the Beatles, Wings, and solo career. His wealth also includes the fortune of his wife, American trucking heiress Nancy Shevell.

The Rausing family

Kirsten Rausing: £12.1 billion

Rich list ranking: 6

Marit Rausing: £9.59 billion

Rich list ranking: 13

Hans Rausing was a Swedish businessman who made his fortune after inheriting the world’s largest food packaging company Tetra Pak.

The 93-year-old died last year at their 900-acre estate in Wadhurst,

He ranked 16th on the Rich List 2019.

Before he died, he sold off his stake in the company to his niece and nephew.

His niece Kirsten Rausing, 67, and her brothers Jorn, 60, and Finn, 64, own shares in Tetra Laval, the company Hans helped turn into a huge multinational.

They rank 6th in this year’s Rich List, as they did last year, with a fortune of £12.1 billion, down £156 million on last year.

Meanwhile Hans’s wife Marit Rausing ranks 13th on this year’s rich list. She and Hans moved to Britain from Sweden in the 1980s. Her fortune is down £16 million this year, at £9.59 billion. But her rank is up: last year, she came in 16th place.

The top 10 on the list across the UK are:

- Sir James Dyson and family, household goods and technology, £16.2 billion.

- Sri and Gopi Hinduja and family, industry and finance, £16 billion.

- David and Simon Reuben, property and internet, £16 billion.

- Sir Leonard Blavatnik, investment, music and media, £15.78 billion.

- Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Ineos chemical giant, £12.15 billion.

- Kirsten and Jorn Rausing, inheritance and investment, £12.1 billion.

- Alisher Usmanov, mining and investment, £11.68 billion.

- Guy, George and Galen Jr Weston and family, retail, £10.53 billion.

- Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken and Michel de Carvalho, inheritance, brewing and banking, £10.3 billion.

- The Duke of Westminster and the Grosvenor family, property, £10.29 billion.

The full list covering the wealthiest 1,000 people in the UK appears in a 136-page edition of The Sunday Times Magazine.