Ukrainian-born entertainment magnate Sir Leonard Blavatnik has been named Britain’s wealthiest individual, with a fortune of £23billion – and a worth that has increased by more than £7billion since the start of the Covid crisis.
He tops a list of 171 billionaires – the highest number on record in Britain – according to the annual Sunday Times ranking which shows how the richest people have net more than £106billion from the pandemic.
But what’s the story behind the wealthiest man in the country? We take a closer look.
London-based Blavatnik, 63, sits atop an empire that spans from entertainment to chemicals.
The Colombia University graduate was born in Odessa in the then Soviet Union and became a US citizen in the 1980s.
In 1986, he founded the investment operation Access Industries and began acquiring stakes in aluminium trade. Blavatnik bought the petrochemicals business LyondellBasell out of bankruptcy in 2011 for just over £1billion.
Two years later he made £5billion from selling his stake in the Russian oil company TNK-BP. New York-based Access Industries now holds investments worth £18billion in 30 countries.
The billionaire’s most notable investment, however, is Warner Music which he acquired for £2.4billion in 2013.
Blavatnik's gains in the past year are largely owed to his £1.4billion stake in the entertainment giant which debuted on the stock market last summer.
Since then, his shares have climbed by about 50%, putting a £12.1billion price tag on his holding in the record label giant.
His portfolio also includes a collection of luxury homes in New York worth several hundred million dollars, hotels in Hollywood, Miami Beach and Cap Ferret in France, and the Ocean Club resort in the Bahamas.
Now, the father-of-four, resides at his £46million mansion in Kensington Palace Gardens, London, with wife Emily Appelson.
The philanthropist has donated heavily to UK institutions since becoming a resident, including Oxford University, which named its Blavatnik School of Government after him.
He has also donated to both U.S. Republicans and Democrats, including to Donald Trump's presidential inaugural committee.
Blavatnik last topped the Sunday Times Rich List in 2015, when he was worth £13.17billion.
Having gilded his fortune in the music industry over the past year, the Ukrainian-born Midas is hoping for a knockout blow in the sports world with his acquisition of the 'Netflix of Sport' Dazn.
Earlier this year, he took the top spot as Forbes’ richest man in the world from brothers Sri and Gopi Hinduja, now worth £17billion.
In the list of Britain’s most elite revealed today, he beat hotel tycoons David and Simon Reuben and their £21billion fortune to the number one spot.
Blavatnik also took the top place from James Dyson, whose fortune is now in fourth place at an estimated £16.3billion.
Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich comes in at number 8 on the list with a total wealth of £12billion.
