Christopher Harborne, the crypto billionaire who gave a controversial £5m gift to Nigel Farage, has entered the Sunday Times Rich List for the first time at number six, with an estimated fortune of £18.2bn. The Thailand-based businessman is now the richest British-born person on the list, which ranks the 350 wealthiest UK residents and Britons abroad.
Other first-time entrants include Noel and Liam Gallagher, whose Oasis reunion tour earned an estimated £375m, and Emily Eavis, daughter of Glastonbury founder Michael Eavis. David and Victoria Beckham also join the billionaire club, with David becoming Britain's first billionaire sportsperson thanks to his stake in Inter Miami and a property empire, boosting the couple's wealth to £1.2bn.
Harborne's £5m gift to Farage, made weeks before the Reform leader announced his 2024 general election candidacy, has sparked controversy. Farage initially said the money was for personal security and did not need to be declared, but later described it as a “reward” for his Brexit campaigning. The parliamentary standards watchdog has launched an investigation into whether the donation should have been declared under rules for MPs.
Labour donor Gary Lubner, co-owner of the Autoglass group, also debuts on the list with an estimated £1.3bn fortune, having pledged to give away 95% of it. Sports promoters Barry and Eddie Hearn are new entrants as well. The Hinduja family tops the list again with £38bn, while the combined wealth of the 350 richest individuals and families rose 1.4% to £784bn, with 157 billionaires in the UK.
Robert Watts, compiler of the list, noted significant changes: “One in six of the individuals and families who appeared two years ago don’t feature this time. Many foreign billionaires have moved away, and we have seen a sharp rise in British nationals now resident in Dubai, Switzerland and Monaco.”
