The two richest people in Britain have homes in Sussex.

Oil tycoon and Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich was named the UK's wealthiest person in The Mail on Sunday yesterday.

In its annual Rich Report, experts estimated the Russian's fortune to be £7.2 billion.

This includes more than £5 billion of business assets, £2 billion cash, plus three yachts, a private jet, two helicopters and his estate at Rogate, West Sussex.

The 37-year-old was orphaned at the age of three and began his business empire as a teenager selling rubber ducks at a market.

He amassed his fortune through a controlling stake in Russian oil company Sibneft and took control of the former state company with mentor Boris Berezovsky for $100 million in the mid-Nineties.

Mr Abramovich bought Chelsea Football Club for £140 million last year and has spent more than £100 million bringing in star players.

Mr Abramovich is thought to be hoping to escape Russian premier Vladimir Putin's hard-line policies by relocating to Britain permanently.

Second on the Rich Report list was Dr Hans Rausing, who co-founded the Tetra Laval milk carton empire.

Researchers claim the retired businessman, who has an 800-acre estate near Crowborough, has amassed a fortune of £6.6 billion, kept in a network of off-shore investments.

Sir Paul McCartney, who has homes in Hove and near Rye, was placed at number 43 in the list and is said to be worth £725 million.

Sir Paul lives with his wife Heather Mills and their baby daughter Beatrice. A tour of America last year yielded £60 million and he has been confirmed as the headline act at this year's Glastonbury festival.

Fellow rocker Keith Richards is said to be worth £165 million. The 60-year-old Rolling Stones guitarist has a home at West Wittering, near Chichester.

Others featured include Anthony Brotherton-Ratcliffe and his family, at 214 on the list. Mr Brotherton-Ratcliffe lives in East Sussex and his family wealth was put at £191 million.

His father, 84-year-old John Brotherton-Ratcliffe from Haywards Heath, recently handed over the property business Croudace Holdings to "reluctantly" take things easy.

The Wates family, who own the Wates Group building firm, are based in Northiam, Sussex. Their £145 million fortune put them at number 275 on the list.

In total, 22 per cent of the 300 millionaires listed were from the South-East, excluding London.

There was no room for Nicholas Hoogstraten, who once boasted being worth £500 million. The businessman, whose conviction for manslaughter was overturned last year, still owns a substantial property empire, plus his estate near Uckfield.