2012 RICHEST MEN IN UK ACCORDING TO SUNDAY TIMES

[Chris michael]

The Sunday Times Rich List 2012 is compiled by Philip Beresford, the leading authority on British wealth. The list is based on identifiable wealth, land, property, other assets such as art and racehorses, or significant shares in publicly quoted companies, and does not include the cash in their bank accounts, meaning the true level of their wealth could be even higher. Top 20 Richest People In UK as of 2012

#1. Lakshmi Mittal & family


Net Worth: £12.7 Billion – As of April 2012 Source of Wealth: Steel Britain's best-known Bollygarch is the biggest faller in The Sunday Times Rich List for the second consecutive year but Mittal and his family extend their run at No 1, which started in 2005, thanks to their enormous fortune made from steel. Although he has topped the Sunday Times Rich List for eight consecutive years, last year was a comparatively bad one for the Indian-born steel magnate. Falling stock markets wiped several billions off his personal fortune. He owns a stake in, Queens Park Rangers.

#2. Alisher Usmanov


Net Worth: £12.3 Billion – As of April 2012 Source of Wealth: Steel Russian steel and mining magnate, is well known to fans of Arsenal, as he owns a 27% stake in the club, which began in 2007 and has not abated even since the American Stan Kroenke took control in 2011. He can console himself with the fact that his personal fortune increased grown by a whopping £7.7 billion in 2010. That's easily the biggest increase of anyone on the Rich List.Usmanov's portfolio of business interests now includes timber, telecoms and internet companies.

#3. Roman Abramovich


Net Worth: £9.5 Billion – As of April 2012 Source of Wealth: Industry, Oil The oil tycoon and Chelsea football club owner  has presided over another season of turmoil, hiring Andre Villas-Boas, then firing him eight months later. Even after a costly divorce from his second wife, Irina, in 2007, Abramovich has a string of property, art and yachting assets. He now lives with Dasha Zhukova, 30, an oligarch's daughter who gave birth to his sixth child, a boy, in 2009.

#4. Sri and Gopi Hinduja


Net Worth: £8.6 Billion – As of April 2012 Source of Wealth: Industry, Finance The Hinduja brothers inherited their father's conglomerate, which has interests in the power, automotive and defence industries in India and worldwide. Gopichand and Srichand are now based in Britain and the company has bought British outsourcing business Careline as well as a stake in bus manufacturer Optare.

#5. Leonard Blavatnik



Net Worth: £7.5 Billion – As of April 2012 Source of Wealth: Industry Moscow-born Blavatnik is based in both New York and London (he paid £41 million for his home in Kensington). In 2009, the US arm of his Lyondell Chemical operation had to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy but it has since emerged back into profit. His stakes in the aluminium, oil and chemical industries netted him £3.2 billion in 2010, says the Sunday Times.

[Chris michael]

#6. Ernesto & Kirsty Bertarelli


Net Worth: £7.4Billion – As of April 2012 Source of Wealth: Pharmaceuticals Ernesto Bertarelli has made his fortune from pharmaceuticals and biotechnology companies. His wife Kirsty Bertarelli, a former Miss UK, is officially the richest woman on this year's Rich List. Their wealth grew by £530 million in 2011.

#7. Duke of Westminster


Net Worth: £7.3 Billion – As of April 2012 Source of Wealth: Property The Duke of Westminster is the highest British-born billionaire on the Sunday Times list. His giant Grosvenor property group weathered the economic storm, with his empire once again rising in value by £350 million over the past year.

#8. David & Simon Reuben



Net Worth: £7 Billion – As of April 2012 Source of Wealth: Property, Internet Brothers David and Simon Reuben have seen their combined fortune rise by £907 million in the past year. If that's not enough, they're planning on floating their company, Global Switch, which runs data centres across the world and is valued at over £4 billion. They have been active in the British property market for 10 years and in June last year paid £130m for a 1.3-acre Mayfair estate. They also own properties including London's iconic Millbank Tower a third of the UK's racecourses and 'London' Oxford airport. They originally made their fortunes in the Russian aluminium industry.

#9. John Fredriksen


Net Worth: £6.6 Billion – As of April 2012 Source of Wealth: Shipping, Oil services John Fredriksen is Norway's richest man. He built his fortune in the shipping industry and owns homes in London, Cyprus, Oslo and Marbella. He also has a stake in travel and shipping group TUI, which owns well- known travel brands including First Choice and Thomson. The family fortune has grown by a huge £400 million since the 2011 Rich List, which the Sunday Times attributes to shrewd investments in oil exploration and seafood companies.

#10. Galen & George Weston



Net Worth: £5.9 Billion – As of April 2012 Source of Wealth: Retailing In 2010, the Westons jumped forty places up the Rich List after the wealth of two sides of their family was merged. The family has amassed their fortune in retail, including the Loblaw supermarket chain in Canada, and their UK interests include a stake in Primark owner Associated British Foods. They also own a 200-acre estate in Henley-on-Thames. The Westons' wealth dropped by £100 million over the past year, according to the Sunday Times.