LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s wealthiest people saw their fortunes rise to record levels last year, according to the annual Sunday Times Rich List, at a time when most Britons’ earnings and savings were squeezed by inflation and low interest rates.
The combined wealth of Britain’s 1,000 richest people swelled by almost five per cent to more than 414 billion pounds ($670 billion), the highest recorded by the 24-year-old survey, the Sunday Times newspaper said in an advance release yesterday.
Some 77 members of the 2012 rich list were billionaires, two more than the previous record in 2008.
Their good fortune contrasted with the economic plight of many Britons who face five years of austerity aimed at wiping out a record budget deficit as the economy struggles to recover from the 2008 financial crisis.
The three top places in the list were dominated by foreign-born magnates with a base in Britain who earned their fortunes from resource-based industries such as minerals, steel and oil.
Lakshmi Mittal retained his crown as Britain’s richest man despite losing almost a quarter of his wealth over the past year following a fall in the share value of his ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steelmaker.
