fortunes of super-rich soar by a third

[bongo]

THE richest people in Britain have seen a record boom in wealth over the past year. Their fortunes have soared by 30% even though much of the UK is struggling to recover from recession and the near-collapse of the banking system.

It is the largest rise in wealth since the list was first published 21 years ago. Much of the increase is a result of the rebound in stock markets and property values after the government injected hundreds of billions of pounds into banks and the wider economy to stave off collapse.

The 2010 Sunday Times Rich List, published today, reveals that the 1,000 richest people in the country increased their wealth by £77 billion last year, bringing their total wealth to £335.5 billion — equal to more than one-third of the national debt.

The number of billionaires has risen from 43 to 53, with nine seeing their wealth rise by £1 billion or more during the past 12 months.
Philip Beresford, compiler of the list, said: “The rich have come through the recession with flying colours. The stock market is up, the hedge funds are coining it. The rich are doing very nicely.

“The rest of the country is going to have to face public spending cuts, but it has little effect on the rich because they don’t consume public services.”

Remarkable though the recovery is, the gains still leave the 1,000 richest short of the peak they reached in 2008. Then, there were 75 billionaires and the top 1,000 were worth £412 billion. Top of the pile again this year is Lakshmi Mittal, the steel tycoon. His fortune has doubled to £22 billion, thanks to the recovery in steel markets.

A boom in commodity markets also drove up the fortunes of the mining magnates Alisher Usmanov, up 213% to £4.7 billion, and Anil Agarwal, up 583% to £4.1 billion.

More controversially, a host of City bankers and financiers have seen their fortunes rise sharply after the financial system was rescued from meltdown by taxpayers.

Louis Bacon, the hedge fund manager, is ranked 49th at £1.1 billion, up from £650m last year; Alan Howard, who co-founded Brevan Howard, Europe’s biggest hedge fund, is ranked 66th with £875m, up from £375m; and numerous other “hedgies” have seen their wealth jump by 50% or more. At the height of the financial crisis, one hedge fund manager, Richard Chenevix-Trench, is believed to have made £82m in one year.

At least 170 people on the list made their fortunes primarily in finance and banking, compared with 246 through property and 229 through inheritance.

The surge in fortunes comes as the Liberal Democrats have made City bonuses and inequality an election issue.

The Lib Dem manifesto claims that “the poorest fifth of the population pay a higher proportion of their income tax than the richest fifth”, and Nick Clegg, the party leader, has attacked the “obscene greed” of some City bankers.

Several members of the Rich List are either leaving the country or threatening to do so to avoid the new 50% income tax rate on high earners.

Paul Sykes, the Yorkshireman who has turned from property development, such as the Meadowhall shopping centre near Sheffield, to forestry, generating a fortune of £650m, is one of those who is hinting that he may relocate to New Zealand.

However, entrepreneurs from overseas are still finding the UK an attractive base.

Among new entries to the list are Joseph Lau, a Chinese property tycoon worth £3.8 billion who recently bought a £33m home in London; Helene and Marianne Odfjell, Norwegian sisters worth £875m who run their family shipping business from London; and Sergei Pugachev, worth £750m and known as the “Kremlin’s banker” for his ties to Vladimir Putin, the Russian prime minister.

Beresford said: “Russians like the UK because it is safe, the level of corruption is low and they can get decent services.” He also noted that the wealthy elite of India find Britain a tempting base: “They live in an Anglophile society in the higher reaches of Dehli and Mumbai — apart from the heat and the curry it’s much the same in London.

“Here there’s English spoken, a good legal system, their children can go to good schools and they are welcomed into the Establishment.”

Vote Labour.

[dangermows]

are you employed by the tories or simply piling thru cameron?

every fucking thread man

[lordy]

its tiresome but ask him which cuts will pay for his prized inheritence tax revolution

[tiptoad]

“The rich have come through the recession with flying colours. The stock market is up, the hedge funds are coining it. The rich are doing very nicely.

“The rest of the country is going to have to face public spending cuts, but it has little effect on the rich because they don’t consume public services.”

And they can afford accountants who specialise in tax-avoidance.

[---Nemo---]

Originally Posted by bongo

Vote Labour.

Remember who told you vast fortunes would be made on the back of the recession?

[bongo]

Originally Posted by ---Nemo---

Remember who told you vast fortunes would be made on the back of the recession?

Gordon Brown,look,it's in the big article above you.
The gap is the widest since Victorian times so you can't even blame the T woman.

[---Nemo---]

Originally Posted by bongo

Gordon Brown,look,it's in the big article above you.
The gap is the widest since Victorian times so you can't even blame the T woman.

I blame nobody, I've just seen it all before. You denied it completely, we were fucked according to your predictions.