Surprise Surprise! The rich get a lot richer in just one year - up 15% in one year

[David Guyatt]

Combined wealth of 1,000 wealthiest in Britain hits unprecedented £518 BILLION as Candy Crush, Grand Theft Auto and COMPARE THE MEERKAT propel their creators to riches

• Between them the richest Britons got £68billion richer in just one year
  
• Britain has more billionaires per head than anywhere else in the world
  
  
• Details of the super-wealthy appeared in the Sunday Times Rich List
  
• Glamorous figures like Emma Watson were listed alongside big businessmen
  
• The Queen featured in the top 300, and tech entrepreneurs shot to wealth
  
• Candy Crush app, Grand Theft Auto videogames and even adverts for comparethemarket.com emerged as a source of huge revenues for owners
  
  

By KIERAN CORCORAN
PUBLISHED: 01:23, 18 May 2014 | UPDATED: 02:20, 18 May 2014

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The richest people in Britain had a bumper year as their wealth surged to a combined total of £518billion.
Between them the thousand richest Britons now have assets worth as much as a third of the entire UK's annual output - up from £450billion this time last year.
The huge total is further proof that Britain is the capital of the world for the super-rich, with more billionaires per head than anywhere else on earth.
Glamorous figures such as Emma Watson and the Queen rubbed shoulders in the rankings with the business elite and aspirant tech millionaires.




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Glam: Emma Watson, left, was ranked on the Young Rich List with a £30million fortune, while the Queen ranked 285 with a £330million fortune





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Success story: The man behind comparethemarket.com, with its ubiqutious meerkat adverts, featured in the list




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Meerkat moolah: Douw Steyn was ranked 170, with a £600million fortune

The identities of the richest men and women in the country were revealed in today's Sunday Times Rich List, which ranks the 1,000 richest Britons every year. To qualify this year a minimum fortune of £85million was necessary.
As well stalwart figureheads of affluence including Richard Branson, the Barclay Brothers and the Queen, the list also pointed out a number of internet successes, including the man behind insurance site comparethemarket.com.
South African insurance tycoon Douw Steyn, who funded the ubiquitous Compare the Meerkat adverts, saw his wealth go up by £50 million to a total of £600 million, ranked 170.

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He was joined by the creators of the addictive Candy Crush smartphone app, as well as the brother behind the violent Grand Theft Auto videogame series.

Four members of King Digital Entertainment, which publishers Candy Crush, joined the list. They include entrepreneur Mel Morris, who came in at 238 with a £430 million fortune, and King's chief executive Riccardo Zacconi, ranked 271 with £354 million.
Sam and Dan Houser, whose fortune stems from Rockstar Games, which publishes the wildly popular Grand Theft Auto titles, were new entries at 947 with a joint fortune of £90 million.


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Sweet reward: Candy Crush entrepreneur Mel Morris was a new entrant with a £430million fortune



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Addictive: Candy Crush has millions of users, many of whom pay to play the game


Nevertheless, the firm's founders are still in line for a monumental windfall.

To get into the top 500, the rich need £190 million - double the £80 million required in 2004 and up £30million from the £160million cut off point for last year's list.

Philip Beresford, who has compiled the ranking since 1989, said: 'I've never seen such a phenomenal rise in personal wealth as the growth in the fortunes of Britain's 1,000 richest people over the past year.

'The richest people in Britain have had an astonishing year.

'While some may criticise them, many of these people are at the heart of the economy and their success brings more jobs and more wealth for the country.'

Most distinguished among the old money names, the Queen had a sterling year as she added £10 million to her personal fortune and is now ranked 285 with £330 million.



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Play it your way: The heist levels perhaps best represent just how far gameplay has come since its predecessor - allowing you to complete the objectives in different ways, be that stealth or all-out assault

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Aiming high: Rockstar have called it the most ambitious in the series and nearly all of their ideas have paid off




Well-established Rich List millionaires such as Jamie and wife Jools Oliver saw their worth go up by £90 million to £240 million, ranking them at 396, as the celebrity chef's restaurant chain, TV appearances, cookbook sales and Jool's childrenswear range continued to pay dividends.

Former Tesco boss Sir Terry Leahy, who stepped down at the supermarket chain in 2011, was among the new entrants with a worth of £100 million, ranking at 863.

Meanwhile, American film producer Harvey Weinstein and his British former model turned designer wife Georgina Chapman also made the grade for the first time with a joint fortune of £115 million, ranked 788.



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New too: Sir Terry Leahy, former chief executive of Tesco, entered the list at 863 with £1million

Entertainers featured heavily in the 50 Young Rich list for those aged 30 and under.

Former Harry Potter star Emma Watson, 24, is now estimated to be worth £30 million, up £3 million on last year, as she builds a career for herself as a Hollywood leading lady.

Husband and wife Marcus Mumford 27, and Carey Mulligan, 28, joined the young list for the first time with a joint fortune of £13million from their music and films.
Last week it was announced that the list's compilers had found that the number of billionaires living in Britain has risen to more than 100 for the first time.

Some 104 billionaires are now based in the UK - more than triple the number from a decade ago - with a combined wealth of more than £301 billion.

It means Britain has more billionaires per head of population than any other country, while London's total of 72 sterling billionaires is more than any other city in the world

The 26th annual Sunday Times Rich List will be released tomorrow with profiles of the 1,000 richest individuals and families in the UK and the wealthiest 250 in Ireland.

It is based on 'identifiable wealth' - including land, property, other assets such as art and racehorses, or significant shares in publicly quoted companies. It does not include money held in bank accounts.

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