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Two South Africans in top 20 on UK rich list

Cape Town - Two South Africans have made it into the top 20 of the respected Sunday Times Rich List released on Sunday, with Ukrainian businessman Len Blavatnik taking the top spot with a personal wealth of £13.17bn (R240bn).

South-African born Swazi business mogul Nathan Kirsh claimed 17th position and is said to be worth £5.06bn (R93bn), while Nicky Oppenheimer and family made it to 19th position with £4.55bn (R83.6bn) in their wealth coffers.

Blavatnik, an investor in several industries including oil, petrochemicals and media and who was in 4th place last year, added £3bn to his fortune to oust brothers Sri and Gopi Hinduja.

Despite adding £1.1bn to their fortune, the brothers, who run a multinational conglomerate of the same name, fell £0.17bn short of meeting Blavatnik's fortune.

The index found that Britain's 1 000 richest individuals and families now have a combined fortune of over £547bn, more than double the wealth of ten years ago.

It is also no longer easy for ordinary millionaires or even multi-millionaires to make it into the top 1 000, as people now need to be worth at least £100m to make the list. That is £15m more than last year's minimum, while 18 years ago you only needed £15m to cut the grade, according to The Sunday Times Rich List.

Other famous names featuring on the list include Lakshmi Mittal and family (7th; £9.2bn), owners of ArcerlorMittal, Roman Abramovich (10th; £7.29bn), the Russian oligarch who owns Chelsea Football Club, and Richard Branson (20th; £4.1bn), the British entrepreneur behind the Virgin brand. Lakshmi is also a major stakeholder in Queens Park Rangers Football Club.

Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton was named Britain's richest sportsman in the separate Sunday Times Sport Rich List and is said to be worth £88m, according to AFP.

He was followed by Manchester United and England footballer Wayne Rooney on £72m and fellow racing driver Jenson Button on £71m.

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho was named the richest manager in British sport with a £40m fortune.

The top 20 on The Sunday Times Rich List are:

1. Len Blavatnik (£13.17bn)
2. Sri and Gopi Hinduja (£13bn)
3. Galen and George Weston and family (£11bn)
4. Alisher Usmanov (£9.8bn)
5. David and Simon Reuben (£9.7bn)
6. Ernesto and Kirsty Bertarelli (£9.45bn)
7. Lakshmi Mittal and family (£9.2bn)
8. Kirsten and Jorn Rausing (£8.7bn)
9. The Duke of Westminster (£8.56bn)
10. Roman Abramovich (£7.29bn)
11. John Fredriksen and family (£7.24bn)
12. Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken and Michel de Carvalho (£7.145bn)
13. Sir David and Sir Frederick Barclay (£6.5bn)
14. Hans Rausing and family (£6.4bn)
15. Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber and family (£5.935bn)
16. Carrie and Francois Perrodo and family (£5.8bn)
17. Nathan Kirsh (£5.06bn)
18. Earl Cadogan and family (£4.8bn)
19. Nicky Oppenheimer and family (£4.55bn)
20. Sir Richard Branson and family (£4.1bn)

- AFP, The Sunday Times Rich List

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