The annual list has again ranked the richest people in Northern Ireland
Belfast city rooftop views(Image: Justin Kernoghan/Belfast Live)
The richest people in Northern Ireland have been revealed. They include pharmaceutical bosses, fuel barons, food suppliers and a top golfer, according to this year’s edition of The Sunday Times Rich List, which has now been published online.
The list, which is updated annually, ranks the 350 richest people in the UK and has been printed in a special edition of The Sunday Times Magazine since 1989.
Topping the list once again for the 10 richest individuals or families in Northern Ireland are Lady Ballyedmond and family. The wealth of the family of the late Eddie Haughey, founder of Newry-headquartered Norbrook Laboratories, is estimated at £898m in 2026, down from £922m last year.
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A trained solicitor and former lecturer, pharma heiress Lady Ballyedmond has recently moved to Italy.
Second on the list is Michael Loughran and family, who own a fuel distribution and petrol station group that turns over more than £1 billion a year. The Northern Irish family transferred £89.8 million to the Isle of Man last year. Their current wealth is estimated at £770m, up from £530m on 2025.
Traders Robert and William Barnett and family, valued at £715m (up from £647m in 2025) are third on the list. Belfast-based W&R Barnett has storage, grain-dealing and packaging arms.
Only one famous face from Northern Ireland made the list for the richest people under 40: golfer Rory McIlroy. The Holywood man has an estimated wealth of £325m through sponsorship.
This year’s list of individuals and families has a combined wealth of £783.5bn – more than the annual GDP of Belgium, Sweden and Israel.
The survey is based on identifiable wealth including land, property, other assets such as art and racehorses, or significant shares in publicly-quoted companies. It excludes bank accounts, which the paper has no access to.
The 2026 special edition of The Sunday Times Magazine reveals the largest fall in the billionaire count in the guide’s 38-year history. The minimum entry level to get on the list this year has dipped to £340m, another indicator of a subdued year.
Famous figures to make the cut include Sir Elton John, Andrew Lloyd-Webber, Sir Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, JK Rowling, Charlotte Tilbury and Sir Lewis Hamilton.
Robert Watts, compiler of the Sunday Times Rich List, says this year is a tale of two exoduses: “ One in six of the individuals and families who appeared on the list two years ago don’t feature this time.
“Many foreign billionaires who have been living in the UK have also dropped out because they have moved away. We have also seen a sharp rise in the number of British nationals now resident in Dubai, Switzerland and Monaco. As UK nationals these people remain on our Rich List — wherever they now live.
“These two exoduses pose challenges for the UK economy and its public finances. Will more of the wealthy now set up or grow their ventures overseas and in doing so create fewer jobs here? How much tax — if any — will Rachel Reeves’s Treasury be able to extract from those affluent Brits who have now left the country?
“For nearly 40 years the Sunday Times Rich List has analysed the fortunes of Britain’s most affluent people. We believe understanding where wealth lies and where it is being accumulated is a vital part of a functioning democracy.
“Over the years our research has told us a lot about our country, charting the way a generation of largely self-made entrepreneurs overtook the old money of the landed gentry.
“This year’s edition shines a light on fortunes made from artificial intelligence, driverless cars and crypto-currencies as well as baby milk, make-up, hoodies and other everyday items. We know many of our readers find those rags-to-riches stories of entrepreneurs who started out with little more than a laptop and an idea particularly inspiring.”
For the full list of 350 richest people in the UK go to www.thetimes.com/sunday-times-rich-list.
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