Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Evening Standard
Evening Standard
National
Megan White

Sir Philip Green no longer a billionaire after fortune halved in past year, says rich list

Sir Philip Green was named as the businessman behind a privacy injunction preventing the media publishing allegations by former employees (Picture: AFP/Getty Images)

Sir Philip Green is no longer thought to be a billionaire after his fortunes halved in the past year, according to The Sunday Times Rich List.

The Topshop tycoon is now worth an estimated £950 million, down from £1.05 billion last year, the newspaper said.

With his wealth peaking at almost £5 billion in 2007, it is the first time in 17 years that Sir Green has not been listed as a billionaire.

The plummet places Sir Philip and wife Tina at 156th on the list, down from 66th in 2018.

Sir Philip Green with his wife Tina, left, and daughter Chloe (Dave Benett/Getty Images)

The Arcadia Group - which includes Topshop, Burton and Dorothy Perkins - was valued as worthless in this year's list, as the company copes with a pension debt which hit £565 million.

The couple's stake in the company was last year valued at £750 million, while the compilers also removed £300 million from their worth to allow the shoring up of the deficit.

Robert Watts, who compiled the list, said he struggles to envisage the tycoon returning to the "upper echelons".

He said: "Sir Philip Green may have clung on to his knighthood, but we can no longer justify his status as one of the UK's billionaires.

Sir Philip Green faced calls to be stripped of his knighthood after a slew of allegations (AP)

"This is the first time since 2002 he has not been in that top tier of the UK's super rich individuals."

The devaluation comes after sustained criticism against Sir Philip and calls for him to lose his knighthood.

He was lambasted over the collapse of BHS, affecting 11,000 jobs, 19,000 pension holders and leaving a £571 million in the pension scheme.

The businessman, who sold the department store chain to Dominic Chappell for £1 before it plunged into administration, agreed to pay £363 million towards the deficit.

Sir Philip has also faced a slew of allegations, including of groping a female executive and making a racial slur at an employee.

The Croydon-born entrepreneur denied his behaviour was criminal or amounted to gross misconduct.

The newspaper's list features a record 151 billionaires with a combined wealth of nearly £525 billion, a 9.2 per cent rise on last year.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.