The Sunday Times Rich List 2024: The richest people in Yorkshire and their net worths

The special edition of The Sunday Times Magazine published on Friday, May 17 reveals the largest fall in the billionaire count in the guide’s 36-year history, from a peak of 177 in 2022 to 165 this year.

There are 350 individuals and families who collectively hold the combined wealth of £795.361 billion, which is a sum larger than the annual GDP of Poland.

Sir Elton John, Lord Lloyd-Webber and David and Victoria Beckham appear on the list and the minimum entry for the list of 350 this year is £350 million.

According to The Sunday Times, the wealthiest people in Yorkshire, owners of Wren Kitchens, Malcolm Healey and family, have lost £99 million this year, despite this, they are still billionaires and maintain their spot as one of the five richest families in the region. Collectively they are worth £1.501 billion.

Morrisons supermarket heirs, Andrea Shelley, William Morrison and Eleanor Kernighan, also retain their position are the top five richest family in Yorkshire with a fortune of £933 million. The children of Sir Ken Morrison did considerably well from the private equity takeover of the Morrisons supermarket chain this year.

The collective wealth of Duty Free Shoppers Group co-founder, Robert Miller, and his daughter Princess Marie-Chantal, added up to £1.429 billion this year. But the duo’s wealth dropped by £154 million this year, the largest decline in their region for two years in a row. The duty free shopping tycoon’s daughter is married to the new head of the Greek Royal Family.

DFS founder, Lord Kirkham, and his family have also appeared in the top three most wealthy people in Yorkshire with their collective wealth of £1.14 billion. Earning low O-level results forced Mr Kirkham to abandon his dream of making it in the RAF, and learn how to make furniture, which became the foundation of DFS.

Jon and Susie Seaton, the married couple who founded Twinkl, an educational publisher in Sheffield, are new entries on the Rich List. They have sold a stake that values the teaching aides business at £500 million.

Compiler of the Sunday Times Rich List, Robert Watts, said: “This year’s Sunday Times Rich List suggests Britain’s billionaire boom has come to an end. Many of our home-grown entrepreneurs have seen their fortunes fall and some of the global super rich who came here are moving away.

“Thousands of British livelihoods rely on the super-rich to some extent. We’ll have to wait and see whether we have now reached peak billionaire, and what that means for our economy.

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“These may be harder times to create wealth, but The Sunday Times Rich List continues to unearth entrepreneurs building fortunes in diverse and often surprising ways. This year’s new entries include people who have made money from artificial intelligence and virtual worlds as well as plumbing supplies and teaching aides.

“We know many of our readers find such people — especially those from humbler backgrounds — very inspiring.”

Richest people in Yorkshire according to The Sunday Times Rich List 2024

1 - Malcolm Healey and family

Source of wealth: Kitchens and property: Wren Kitchens

2024 wealth: £1.501 billion

Rise/fall: Down £99 million

2 - Robert Miller and Princess Marie-Chantal and family

Source of wealth: Retail, fashion and finance: Duty Free Shoppers Group

2024 wealth: £1.429 billion

Rise/fall: Down £154 million

3 - Lord Kirkham and family

Source of wealth: Furniture and investments: DFS

2024 wealth: £1.14 billion

Rise/fall: No change

4 - The Shepherd family

Source of wealth: Modular buildings: Portakabin

2024 wealth: £1.104 billion

Rise/fall: Up £411 million

5 - Andrea Shelley, William Morrison and Eleanor Kernighan and family

Source of wealth: Supermarkets: Morrison

2024 wealth: £933 million

Rise/fall: No change