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Insider UK
Business
John Glover & Thomas Durham

How much is Sir Ian Wood actually worth?

Sir Ian Wood is one of the best-known figures living in Aberdeen today.

The founder of the company that bears his name turned it from a family fishing business into a multinational engineering group.

As of 2022, his net worth is estimated to be $1.6bn, making him the 1,931st richest person in the world and 43rd richest person in the UK, according to the Forbes billionaires list.

He also ranks fourth in the Sunday Times Richlist for Scotland, behind Danish billionaire Anders Povlsen, whisky tycoon Glen Gordon and pharmaceutical company owner Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw.

Wood was born in 1942 and studied at Robert Gordon College and the University of Aberdeen before joining the family business in 1962. He became chief executive in 1967 and focused it on the North Sea oil industry.

Under his watch, Wood Group has expanded to 50 different countries and had over 60,000 employees. He moved up to chair the board, before retiring in 2012.

Wood has been awarded both a KT, Scotland's highest order, and a GBE, the highest rank in the Order of the British Empire.

He has also received honorary doctorates from the University of Aberdeen, The Robert Gordon University, Glasgow Caledonian University and Heriot-Watt University.

Since stepping down from the company, he has set up Opportunity North East, which is dedicated to broadening North East industry for the change to a low-carbon economy.

Last year, Wood also stood down as chancellor of Robert Gordon University, a position he had held for 16 years.

He currently chairs the Wood Foundation, a philanthropic organisation focused on developing young people across Scotland and creating economic progress in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Wood still lives in Scotland, spending much of his time in Aberdeen.

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