Northern Ireland's richest person revealed as 2023…

Northern Ireland's richest person revealed as 2023 Sunday Times Rich List is published

Stephen Fitzpatrick is the richest person in Northern Ireland according to the new edition of The Sunday Times Rich List.

Born in Belfast, entrepreneur Stephen Fitzpatrick founded the fast-growing energy giant Ovo. His wealth is estimated at £2.212 billion - up £872 million from last year, although the shares in his flying taxi venture have plummeted.

Lady Ballyedmond and family who own Norbrook Pharmaceuticals company come in at second on the annual list, with their wealth estimated at £1.05bn, which is down £197m from last year.

A new entry on the list in Northern Ireland this year is traders Robert and William Barnett and family who are valued at £525 million. Belfast-based W&R Barnett has storage, grain-dealing and packaging arms. Robert is chairman of the family-owned business.

Overall, the richest 350 in the UK this year are worth £796.459 billion.

Rory McIlroy is this year’s richest sportsperson in the UK under the age of 35, and the richest young person in the region. The Northern Irish golfer has boosted his £60 million earnings on the fairways with sponsorship deals from big names such as Nike. Last year the 34-year-old founded the tech-focused TMRW Sports with Tiger Woods. It launches the TGL golf league next year.

The 68-page special edition of The Sunday Times Magazine reveals the wealth of the 350 richest people in Britain in its 35th annual edition. There are 171 billionaires in the UK recorded this year, down 6 from 2022. The combined wealth of the UK billionaires is £683.856 billion, up £30.734 billion, or 4.5 per cent, on the total wealth of the billionaires in last year’s Rich List.

Robert Watts, compiler of the Sunday Times Rich List , said: "This year's Sunday Times Rich List shows a golden period for the super rich is over. For the first time in 14 years we've seen the number of UK billionaires fall.

"Two years ago we raised concerns about an unsettling boom in the fortunes of the very wealthy that continued unchecked during the political instability around Brexit and the pandemic. This is not a crash - but there are household names who have lost vast sums over the past year. The bursting of the tech bubble, the end of rock bottom interests and the jitters creeping through the banking industry have all taken their toll.

“The super rich don't exist in a vacuum. Many small investors lost money in some of their overblown stock market floats. Many people also work for their businesses. Financial losses for billionaires can have implications for us all."

THE SUNDAY TIMES RICH LIST 2023 – THE WEALTHIEST IN NORTHERN IRELAND

Rank	Name	Source of Wealth	2023 Wealth	Rise/Fall
1	Stephen Fitzpatrick	Energy and transport: OVO and Vertical Aerospace	£2.212bn	Up £872m
2	Lady Ballyedmond and family	Pharmaceuticals: Norbrook	£1.05bn	Down £197m
3	Martin Naughton and family	Household goods: Glen Dimplex	£850m	Up £50m
4	Robert and William Barnett and family	Food distribution and packaging: W&R Barnett	£525m	New entry
5	Michael Loughran and family	Fuel distribution: LCC	£500m	New entry

35 under 35

Rank

Name

Source of Wealth

2023 Wealth

Rory McIlroy

Golf

£200m

The Sunday Times Rich List is compiled by Robert Watts. It is the definitive guide to wealth in the United Kingdom. It charts the wealth of the 350 richest people in the UK. The list 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, to which the paper has no access. The magazine includes several interviews and features, focused on some of the leading players and personalities among the richest 350, as well as a full ranking by order of wealth. The 35 under 35 List details of individuals with the biggest fortunes aged 35 or under.

The complete list will be available to the paper’s digital subscribers and will be online.

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