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Sir Philip Green £433 million worse off, according to Rich List
BHS pension dispute means retail tycoon loses ground among UK’s wealthiest
May 8, 2017 11:11
BHS pension dispute means retail tycoon loses ground among UK’s wealthiest
May 8, 2017 11:11Sir Philip Green and his wife Lady Green are £433million poorer, according to the Sunday Times Rich List.
They were the only couple on the list of Britain's 1,000 wealthiest people whose fortune was said to have decreased over the past year – taking them from 29th place to 41st overall.
Arcadia tycoon Sir Philip suffered the loss after agreeing to pay £363 million to settle the BHS pension dispute in February.
The once popular high-street chain, which Sir Phillip sold in 2015, was placed in administration just over a year ago with the loss of 11,000 jobs.
Despite their large drop in fortune, the Greens are fifth place on the list for richest husbands and wives with a combined fortune of £2.787 billion.
Brothers David and Simon Reuben, whose property empire put them top of the list in 2016, fell two places.
The businessmen have a fortune of £14bn, up £900m rise in the past 12 months.
The siblings, from a wealthy Iraqi Jewish family, made their money in the metals and now focus on prime London property.
The Ukrainian-born American businessman Len Blavatnik was named as the second richest with £15.982bn.
His businesses include Warner Music Group.
It has been a good year for Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich, who was named as the 13th richest with a fortune of £8.053 billion, an increase of £1.653 billion.
London-based Nathan Kirsh, who made his fortune through a cash and carry business, property, and investment, dropped six places from 2016.
The 85-year-old is ranked as 27th richest.
The South African-born billionaire gave £500,000 to Britain Stronger in Europe, the official Remain campaign group.
In 2011 Kirsh bought the landmark City skyscraper Tower 42 for £282.5m, part of property assets that are worth £940m.
He made his first fortune in his native Swaziland, founding a corn-milling firm in 1958 before expanding into wholesale food distribution in apartheid South Africa.
Online gambling tycoon Mark Scheinberg is 32nd richest with a fortune of £3,698m.
In the past year his fortune has risen by £828m. He got into the online gambling business when he was 28 after his father Isai founded PokerStars.
Father and son diamond dealers Laurence and Francois Graff are 33rd richest with a £3,640m fortune.
Mr Graff senior, 78, was born in Stepney, east London, and divides his time between homes in the Swiss Alps, London, Cap Ferrat and New York and his 150ft yacht. Graff Diamonds International, is run by his son François, 53.
Mark Pears and family continue as Rich List regulars, in this year at number 38 with a £3,140m fortune.
Mr Pears, 54, took over his family's London-based property empire at the age of 21 after the death of his father Clive.
Since then the group he runs with his brothers Trevor and David has amassed a vast portfolio, including the Coutts bank building on the Strand.
Last year the family’s charity work through the Pears Foundation spent £16.9m, including £2.5m for a family centre at the Anna Freud Centre.
It will help teach 48 children whose mental health problems exclude them from mainstream schools.
Israeli Teddy Sagi is ranked 45th richest for his work in the software and property industries, with a fortune of £2,547m.
The 45-year-old bought Camden Market in north London for nearly £500m in 2014.
Publisher Richard Desmond is the list at 46th place, with a worth of £2,500m.
Mr Desmond, 65 bought the Express newspaper titles bought in 2000 for £125m - they are now worth £300m.
He also made £463m from selling Channel 5 in 2014.
Another Israeli making it into the top 50 wealthiest at 48th place, is Tel Aviv-born Idan Ofer, 61, who owns a fleet of 150 merchant ships through the Quantum Pacific Group.
