Most of them did not inherit their wealth, half were state educated — but all are multimillionaires. Introducing the richest young people in Britain
arry Styles, Dua Lipa and Ed Sheeran weren’t even born in 1989, when the inaugural issue of The Sunday Times Rich List revealed Queen Elizabeth to be the wealthiest woman in the world. The three UK chart-toppers all make our 35 under 35 wealth rankings, which mark our 35th edition by showcasing young British talent from the worlds of music, sport, entertainment and business.
Today’s Young Rich List is led by the newly engaged Duke of Westminster, 32, who inherited his title and a vast land and property portfolio aged 25. His family’s total wealth is estimated at £9.878 billion.
Analysis of the 35 under 35 list reveals the following:
● The majority made millions on their own, but nine were born into money.
● Those who inherited wealth are worth much more. So, 33 out of 38 individuals on this list built their fortunes themselves, a combined total of £5.8 billion; the other five, who owe at least some of their wealth to inheritance, account for £13.1 billion.
● Four of the 35 under 35 were born outside the UK, the others mostly come from London or Worcestershire.
● About half attended state schools, and at least a third didn’t go on to further education.
● Five were friends at the same school, South Bromsgrove High School.
Among the alumni of South Bromsgrove High School is Ben Francis, 30, co-founder of the sportswear brand Gymshark, who launched the business just over a decade ago and is now valued at £900 million. His advice to wannabe entrepreneurs? “First, find something you absolutely love. Second, learn from failure: Gymshark was my seventh attempt at a business. Finally, stay humble, be passionate and pay your taxes.”
Francis and his four school friends shared a love of football along with their passion for business. Lewis Morgan, who co-founded Gymshark, has since sold his stake and moved into property. He has also invested in the fashion brands Aybl — an athleisure label set up by fellow pupils Reiss and Kris Edgerton, who are valued at £60 million. He also co-founded Manière De Voir, a fashion line established by Reece Wabara (£83 million), a former England U20 footballer.
Were there any teachers who inspired him? “No. I can’t even remember their names,” Wabara says, laughing.
He does have advice for his younger self, though. “Entrepreneurship can be a lonely, dark place at times, but remember the best things in the world are free,” he says.
Reiss Edgerton says: “Don’t be frightened of failure. When you get to 20 or 21, something should click and you think, ‘I really want to make something of myself.’ I cut off a few friends. You need a group of like-minded friends to push you on together.”
Gen Z’s appetite for gaming and a growing generation of coding expertise has boosted the fortunes of Johnny Boufarhat, Christian Owens, Christian Facey and Daniel Knight, all of whom make the list with tech companies they have founded.
Bear in mind that destiny may have been written in the stars. Most are fire and air signs, with seven Leos leading the way. Let’s hear it for Britain’s youthful entrepreneurial roar.
As the England captain and property investor Harry Kane (£51 million) says: “It’s crucial to remember your roots. Always strive to give back and help others along their own paths to success.”
The Duke of Westminster recently announced his engagement to Olivia Henson
1. Duke of Westminster* £9.878bn
Lady Charlotte Wellesley has launched New York restaurant Casa Cruz
2. Lady Charlotte Wellesley* £2.167bn
The Oxford-educated daughter of the Duke of Wellington, Wellesley, 32, married into a South American brewing dynasty. Last year she launched and co-designed Casa Cruz, the hottest restaurant in New York according to Vogue.
3. Johnny Boufarhat £1.714bn
The Sydney-born Boufarhat, 28, built the video-conference app Hopin while bedridden with an autoimmune disease a year before the pandemic. Soon Dell and Nato were using the service, as was Elon Musk. Boufarhat has cashed in shares worth £162.5 million.
4. Ben Francis* £900m
Dropping out of a business and management degree, Francis built up the sports kit retailer Gymshark after his mum taught him how to sew. He still owns 71 per cent of the Solihull-based brand, now worth £1.5 billion. Aged 30, he and his wife are bringing a Cotswolds farm back to life.
India Rose James is founder of the art gallery Soho Revue
5. India Rose James* £758m
Oliver and Alexander Kent-Braham initially ran their business from a Virgin Active gym
6. Oliver and Alexander Kent-Braham £455m
Tennis players in their teens, the 31-year-old twins are using AI to identify safe drivers in high-risk categories and offer them lower premiums through their car insurance firm Marshmallow. They first ran the business from a Virgin Active gym.
7. Ed Sheeran £300m
The singer-songwriter’s latest album may be entitled Subtract, but the sums still add up. Sheeran, 32, who left school at 16, was the first artist to surpass 100 million followers on Spotify. On tour in the US, he is poised for his biggest year yet.
8. Rory McIlroy £200m
The Northern Irish golfer has boosted his £60 million earnings on the fairways with sponsorship deals from big names such as Nike. Last year the 34-year-old founded the tech-focused TMRW Sports with Tiger Woods. It launches the TGL golf league next year.
Fans love Adele for her down-to-earth charm and uncanny ability to channel heartbreak into hit songs
9. Adele £165m
A lucrative residency in Las Vegas is reportedly delivering a cool £500,000 a show for the Tottenham-born Adele Adkins, 35, who has sold more than 100 million albums. Her music sales and touring proceeds are channelled into Melted Stone Ltd and her other companies, the largest of which saw its wealth jump by £11.2 million over the past 12 months. Last year she bought Sylvester Stallone’s Beverly Hills estate for £48 million, adding to her sizeable property portfolio, which includes a villa in Malibu and two adjacent homes in Kensington.
10. Timothy Goodwin* £163m
Based in Stoke-on-Trent, Goodwin, 33, is chairman of the engineering company set up by his family 140 years ago. The Goodwin business employs more than 1,100 people and exports valves to more than 50 countries.
11. Lewis Morgan £160m
Morgan, 30, co-founded Gymshark with Ben Francis (No 4) before selling his 21 per cent stake and moving into property building. He also co-founded fashion line Manière De Voir with Reece Wabara (£83 million), a former England U20 footballer and has also invested in Aybl — an athleisure label set up by fellow former Bromsgrove High School pupils Reiss and Kris Edgerton.
12. Dan and Melanie Marsden £151m
The Instagram-powered lingerie brand Lounge Underwear uses models of all sizes and does not airbrush images. Dan, 31, concentrates on strategy and the financial side while his wife, Melanie, 30, focuses on “everything the customer sees and reads”. The couple paid themselves a £2.2 million dividend.
SureScreen is entirely owned by David Campbell and his family
13= David Campbell* £150m
The finances of SureScreen, entirely owned by 33-year-old Campbell and his family, were transformed during the pandemic, when it became the first UK company to produce lateral flow tests for the government. It is now worth £150 million.
Anthony Joshua won a gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics
13= Anthony Joshua £150m
Two defeats at the gloves of Oleksandr Usyk have not battered the earning power of the Watford-born Joshua, 33, the two-time heavyweight world champion. About 15 million followers on Instagram have enhanced the boxer’s appeal to a fistful of leading brands including Jaguar Land Rover and Hugo Boss. His main company shows a wealth of £106.4 million. “When I first started the aim was to become a multimillionaire,” he told GQ. “Now there are ordinary people who are worth millions just because of property prices. The new school of thought is that I need to be a billionaire.”
13= Harry Styles £150m
Harry’s House, the third studio album by the former One Directioner, was the UK’s biggest-selling record of 2022, winning album of the year at the Grammys and British album of the year at the Brits. The Redditch-born star, 29, is on the UK and European leg of his globetrotting Love on Tour — nearly 170 shows for which he will receive about a quarter of the box-office takings. A five-movie contract with Marvel to play Eros could power up his film career, and modelling continues to pay. He donated earnings from his Apple deal to Ukraine.
16. Christian Owens £101m
Owens taught himself how to code by the time he was 14. Four years later he co-founded the payments software firm Paddle. Now 28, he attributes part of its success to an environment where “dissent and disagreement is encouraged”.
Vishal Karia has made his fortune in cosmetics
17. Vishal Karia £98m
Expelled from school and crippled by ADHD, Karia, 33, hit £86 million in sales of designer beauty products in just six years. His parents remortgaged to help him start, and last year he will have received the bulk of a £3.6 million dividend.
Daniel Radcliffe has recently become a father for the first time
18. Daniel Radcliffe £92m
The Harry Potter star, 33, has conjured up a successful film career and a £45 million share portfolio. Gilmore Jacobs, a company set up by Radcliffe’s parents, shows £91.5 million of wealth on its balance sheet. He has just become a father for the first time.
19= Reece Wabara £83m
A former England U20 footballer, Wabara’s fashion label, Manière De Voir, has annual profits of £6.6 million. Wabara, 31, takes a salary of £150,000, a fraction of that earned by some of his old team-mates at Manchester City. “You don’t need much,” he says.
19= Charlie Wilson £83m
A goalie for Crystal Palace’s youth team, Wilson, 32, quit football for the property game and has scored big. Starting out with a £112,000 flat in Enfield, he sold his portfolio for £20 million. In 2015 he bought Chase New Homes, a Welwyn Garden City property developer.
Dua Lipa has a lifestyle newsletter and podcast
21. Dua Lipa £75m
At school Lipa’s voice was judged “too low” for the choir, but last year’s Future Nostalgia world tour raked in more than £80 million for the pop star, who was born in London to Albanian parents from Kosovo. Fans await DL3, her third studio album. Away from the microphone, the 27-year-old One Kiss singer has a lifestyle newsletter and podcast, and has landed modelling and advertising contracts with Yves Saint Laurent, Versace, Jaguar and Adidas. She also stars in Greta Gerwig’s new Barbie movie. Two of her companies show a combined wealth of £30.5 million on their balance sheets.
Gareth Bale has retired from all football
22. Gareth Bale £70m
Cardiff-born Bale, 33, has called full time on a glittering career that included stints at Southampton, Tottenham and Real Madrid, where he reportedly earned £600,000 a week. His mansion in the Vale of Glamorgan has replicas of three of the world’s most famous golf holes.
23. Raheem Sterling £61m
Sponsorship deals, including an endorsement partnership with New Balance, top up the winger’s £325,000-a-week earnings at Chelsea FC. The Jamaica-born star, 28, has also set up a Stockport-based property company with his fiancée, Paige Milian.
24= Reiss and Kris Edgerton £60m
A day before he was due to join the army, Reiss Edgerton, 30, decided to try and make it in business instead. He joined forces with his brother, Kris, 29, and set up Tayroc, a watch business with annual sales of more than £7 million. The siblings had already started Aybl, a Redditch-based gymwear brand now worth about £60 million. The brothers were at South Bromsgrove High School with Gymshark’s Ben Francis (No 4) — and together they spent many hours on Skype in their teens plotting how they would make it in business.
24= Josh Stevens £60m
Aged 13, Stevens began importing scooters from China using his parents’ fax machine. Now 34, his online retailer One Retail Group has annual sales of £73 million. Profits of £6 million during the year suggest the group is worth £60 million.
Emma Watson has launched a gin brand
24= Emma Watson £60m
Watson’s spell in the Harry Potter franchise helped earn her £50 million; Beauty and the Beast in 2017 gave her £15 million more. Hestia Hebe, her investment company, shows wealth of £23.2 million. Aged 33, she has just launched a gin brand with her brother Alex.
Au Vodka founders Charlie Morgan, left, and Jackson Quinn, right
27= Charlie Morgan £55m
AU Vodka’s blingy gold bottles are a fixture in many bars and clubs but ten years ago Morgan, 27, was known for being the 17-year-old ball boy kicked in the ribs by the Chelsea footballer Eden Hazard. With Swansea City ahead, Morgan appeared to lie on the ball in an attempt to prevent the Belgian star getting it back into play. Hazard lashed out and was sent off. Morgan was determined that the incident should not define his life. Three years later the hotelier’s son launched a vodka brand with his school friend Jackson Quinn. AU’s sales shot up to £43.9 million in 2021-22.
27= Jackson Quinn £55m
Quinn, 30, set up AU Vodka with Charlie Morgan. Their bubblegum-flavoured drink (or pineapple crush, or green watermelon) may not be to everyone’s taste, but savvy use of social media has boosted sales. Quinn owns more than a third of the £150-million brand.
Niall Horan is set to earn at least £6 million as a coach on the US version of The Voice
29= Niall Horan £54m
The former One Direction singer-songwriter, releases his third album this summer. Horan, 29, is expected to earn at least £6 million as a coach on the US version of The Voice and has launched Modest! Golf Management with a roster of high-profile clients.
29= Ayman Rahman and Fateha Begum £54m
Rahman, 32, co-founded the energy trading specialist Dare International with his wife, 35, in 2016. Their company quickly became a leading player in fuel oil derivatives. Born in Devon and based in London, Rahman owns all of the £53.5 million company.
Louis Tomlinson used to be a member of One Direction
PA
29= Louis Tomlinson £54m
The Doncaster-born singer, 31, has said he felt bitter after One Direction split up in 2015 but the past 15 months have been his best earning period. He has been on tour and released two albums and a behind-the-scenes documentary.
32. Harry Kane £51m
The Tottenham and England star, 29, has ploughed some of his £200,000-a-week pay into bricks and mortar — assembling a £13 million portfolio — and invested in a low-calorie doughnut start-up. He rents his home for £800,000 a year.
33= Cara Delevingne £50m
The London-born Delevingne, 30, has opened up about her mental health struggles over the past year. The model turned actress has 43 million Instagram followers and runs an eco-minded foundation, with ambitions to run online climate-conscious courses.
33= Christian Facey £50m
Facey landed his place on a business degree at Kingston through clearing. After working for Google and Facebook he co-founded Audiomob in 2020, creating unobtrusive ads within video games. Facey, 31, owns 52.4 per cent of the business.
33= Daniel Knight £50m
Knight runs Kinetic Games, an independent developer specialising in virtual reality adventures, the best known being the “psychological horror” Phasmophobia. Aged 27, he owns all of the Southampton-based company.
Source: The TImes
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