Christopher Harborne, the crypto billionaire who controversially gifted Nigel Farage £5m, has been named in the list of the UK’s wealthiest people for the first time.
Other first-timers include Noel and Liam Gallagher and Emily Eavis, the daughter of the Glastonbury festival founder, Michael Eavis, according to the latest Sunday Times Rich List published on Friday.
Harborne, who gave Farage the money weeks before the Reform leader announced he would stand as a candidate in the 2024 general election, is estimated to be the sixth-richest UK billionaire, with an estimated fortune of £18.2bn.
He is also the richest British-born person on the Sunday Times list, which ranks the 350 wealthiest UK residents and Britons abroad.
David and Victoria Beckham, the Labour donor Gary Lubner and the sports promoters Barry and Eddie Hearn also join Britain’s billionaire club for the first time.
Farage originally said Harborne’s gift, first revealed by the Guardian, was intended to cover his personal security costs and therefore did not need to be declared. On Thursday, after it emerged that Farage bought a £1.4m property in cash shortly after receiving the gift, he appeared to change this line, saying it was a “reward” for campaigning for Brexit for 27 years.
The parliamentary standards watchdog launched an investigation this week into whether the money from the Thailand-based businessman falls within rules requiring MPs to declare any potentially relevant gifts or donations received in the 12 months before entering parliament.
The Beckhams’ entry makes David Britain’s first billionaire sportsperson, with the couple’s wealth estimated to have doubled over the last year to £1.2bn, thanks to his stake in Inter Miami and a property empire adjoining the US football club’s stadium.
The value of Victoria Beckham’s fashion label is also estimated to have increased in value, following a turnaround in financial performance after years of losses.
Lubner, the co-owner of the group behind Autoglass, who has given more than £10m to the Labour party, has pledged to give away 95% of his estimated £1.3bn fortune.
The Gallagher brothers have made their debut on the list thanks to their comeback tour, with the 41 shows played taking nearly £400m, helping them to an estimated fortune of £375m.
Sanjay and Dheeraj Hinduja and their family top the list again this year, worth £38bn through their Indian conglomerate Hinduja Group.
The combined wealth of the UK’s 350 wealthiest individuals and families rose by 1.4% in the last year to £784bn. Britain’s total of billionaires has grown by just one to 157. After peaking at 177 in 2022, the billionaire count had fallen for three years running.
Robert Watts, the compiler of the rich list, said it had undergone significant change in the last few years. “This year’s rich list is a tale of two exoduses. One in six of the individuals and families who appeared on the list two years ago don’t feature this time.
“Many foreign billionaires who have been living in the UK have also dropped out because they have moved away. We have also seen a sharp rise in the number of British nationals now resident in Dubai, Switzerland and Monaco. As UK nationals these people remain on our rich list – wherever they now live.”
The list’s top 10 wealthiest in the UK
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Sanjay and Dheeraj Hinduja and family: £38bn
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David and Simon Reuben and family: £27.971bn
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Leonard Blavatnik: £26.852bn
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Idan Ofer: £24.481bn
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Guy, George, Alannah and Galen Weston and family: £18.939bn
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Christopher Harborne: £18.177bn
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Nik Storonsky: £16.411bn
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Alex Gerko: £16.006bn
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Jim Ratcliffe: £15.194bn
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Igor and Dmitry Bukhman: £14.26bn