Bloomin’ Billionaires in Britain : Young Entrepreneurs Nudge Old-Line Wealth Off List

Newly rich tycoons from industry, real estate and entertainment are elbowing most aristocratic old money aside in Britain’s booming billionaire stakes.

Queen Elizabeth is comfortably ahead of the field as the holder of the country’s biggest personal fortune, but a survey says self-made entrepreneurs form the bulk of at least 20,000 millionaires in Britain.

Money magazine has found that only five members of the titled elite belong among the 20 richest Britons, with wealth in excess of $440 million.

A survey in the March issue of Money named the 200 richest people in the country--seven of them billionaires--and put their collective worth at $45 billion.

They ranged from the queen, who has estates, share holdings, jewelry, race horses and paintings worth $5.88 billion, to best-selling author Frederick Forsyth, with $17.6 million (or 10 million pounds, the minimum amount for inclusion).

Noting that millionaires tend to be secretive, Money conceded its list was not exhaustive but estimated the number of Britons with fortunes in excess of the magic million mark at 20,000.

The queen’s fortune compares to the $24.6-billion wealth of the Sultan of Brunei, named as the world’s richest man by Forbes magazine, and King Fahd of Saudi Arabia’s $19.4 billion.

The queen’s heir, Prince Charles, is Britain’s 14th-richest man with $600 million.

The figures prompted the Daily Mirror to respond: “The rich are getting richer in (Prime Minister Margaret) Thatcher’s Britain . . . but the poor are getting poorer. Those on the poverty line have swollen from 3 million to nearly 5 million.”

No. 2 on the Money list was 92-year-old John Moores, founder of a soccer betting system and mail-order business, who left school at 14 and has amassed a fortune worth $3 billion. Other billionaires were the Duke of Westminster ($2.5 billion), who owns the choicest parts of central London, and self-made financier Sir Jimmy Goldsmith ($1.76 billion).

A clutch of mere millionaire entrants from the pop world included former Beatle Paul McCartney ($139 million), singer Elton John ($74 million) and Rolling Stone Mick Jagger ($33.5 million).

Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, whose “Phantom of the Opera” is a current hit in London and New York, has $44 million.

“Dynasty” television soap opera star Joan Collins and her novelist sister Jackie were among the 12 women in the top 200 with joint wealth of $164 million--ahead of actors Sean Connery ($19 million) and Michael Caine ($30 million).

The youngest of the group is 31-year-old Sophie Mirman who has made $53 million from a national chain of sock shops.

Money said her bank balance would have looked even better but for the October stock market crash, which wiped $33.5 million off the value of her holdings. A number of other business fortunes on Money’s lists also suffered in the crash.

The 5% on the list who came from abroad included Arundbhai Patel, a 39-year-old Asian who arrived almost penniless from Uganda and built-up a shopping chain worth $88 million.

Money said: “Part of the fascination of compiling this list was digging up the unexpected names and the people behind business success stories where the end-product might be widely renowned but the name means nothing.”

Its example was Ron Hickman, who invented the Black & Decker workmate bench, beloved of do-it-yourself enthusiasts. Money estimated that Hickman’s idea has earned $53 million.