Mike Ashley has been named the wealthiest person in the North East and Yorkshire in the Sunday Times Rich List 2022. The former Newcastle United owner and retail tycoon saw his wealth increase by £277m this year.
Now worth £2.995 billion, Mike Ashley is also the 59th wealthiest person in the UK. Ashley owns 58.44 percent of Frasers Group which includes Sports Direct, House of Fraser, and Flannels. The 57-year-old sold Newcastle United football club in October for £305m and recently took over Middlesbrough's Psyche department store.
The Sunday Times Magazine reveals the wealth of the 250 richest people and families in Britain in its 34th annual edition. There are 177 billionaires in the UK recorded this year, up 6 from 2021 with seven billionaires having links to the region. The combined wealth of the UK billionaires is a huge £653.122 billion.
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Behind Mike Ashley, is plant hire and property magnate Tony Murray who is worth £2.53bn and is the second richest person with links to the area. He is also the oldest among the 250 entrants at 102. Murray and his family own Andrew Sykes Group, the heating and air-conditioning equipment hire company, which has a branch in Sedgefield, County Durham.
Andy Currie and John Reece, directors of the chemicals and energy giant Ineos, which has a base in County Durham, also feature among the seven billionaires in the North's Rich List. Currie, 66, who hails from Doncaster, is now worth £2.118 billion. Reece, 65, who was brought up in Sunderland, has seen his fortune drop to £2.107 billion based on his Ineos stake.
Often billed as the "definitive guide to wealth in the UK", The Sunday Times Rich List is based on "identifiable" wealth. That includes things like land, property, and other assets such as art and racehorses, or significant shares in publicly quoted companies.
It does not include bank accounts, to which The Times has no access. This year, which is the 34th edition of the list, there are 177 billionaires in the UK up six from 2021 - a record year-on-year increase.
The richest people in the North East and Yorkshire are:
- Mike Ashley - Sports equipment and fashion - £2.995bn - up £277m
- Tony Murray and family- Plant hire, prooperty and fire protection - £2.53bn - up £230m
- Robert Miller and Princess Marie-Chantal and family - duty-free shopping, fashion and finance - £2.2bn - up £200m
- Andy Currie - Chemicals: Ineos - £2.118bn - down £102m
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John Reece - Chemicals Ineos - £2.107bn - down £93m
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Malcolm Healey and family - Wren kitchens - £1.35bn - down £77m
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Lord Kirkham and family - DFS furniture and investments - £1.14bn - no change
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William Morrison and Eleanor Kernighan and family - Morrisons supermarkets - £927m - up £286m
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Paul Sykes - property - £775m - up £5m
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Carol Healey and family - property - £750m - down £23 m
The latest Sunday Times Richlist is published HERE and will appear in the print edition of the newspaper on Sunday.
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