Lord Bamford tops the West Midlands list yet again, with a net worth of £10.318 billion, up from £9.45 billion last year.
The national newspaper noted that the Tory peer and political donor, who has retired from the House of Lords recently gained planning permission to build an observatory at his estate in the Cotswolds to showcase rural crafts and regenerative farming.
This year’s list of 350 individuals and families together holds a combined wealth of £783.5 billion — a sum larger than the annual GDP of Belgium ($776 billion), Sweden ($760 billion) and Israel ($719 billion).
It represents about a quarter of the United Kingdom’s total annual GDP.
Sir Elton John, Lord Lloyd-Webber, Sir Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, JK Rowling, Charlotte Tilbury and Sir Lewis Hamilton all appear in the annual survey.
For the full 350 richest people in the UK go online at www.thetimes.com/sunday-times-rich-list
Robert Watts, compiler of the Sunday Times Rich List, said: “This year’s Rich List 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 cryptocurrencies, 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.”
The top 10 richest people in the West Midlands for 2026
- Lord Bamford and family – Estimated wealth: £10.318bn
- Denise, John, and Peter Coates – Estimated wealth: £9.728bn
- Ranjit and Baljinder Boparan and family – Estimated wealth: £2.03bn
- Caspar MacDonald-Hall and family – Estimated wealth: £1.654bn
- John Caudwell – Estimated wealth: £1.569bn
- Sir Tony Gallagher – Estimated wealth: £1.345bn
- Sir Peter, James, and Steve Rigby – Estimated wealth: £1.041bn
- Roy Richardson and family – Estimated wealth: £1.03bn
- Lord Edmiston – Estimated wealth: £897m
- Ben Francis – Estimated wealth: £800m