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Mittal 4th richest person in Britain

Paran Balakrishnan in London

Steel baron Lakshmi Mittal is the fourth richest person in Britain with a fortune worth £ 2.2 billion, according to The Sunday Times newspaper.

Mittal's fortune has risen by £ one billion after the steel industry bounced back from a recession during the last few months. He was the 10th richest person in Britain last year.

Tetrapak billionaire Hans Rausing, who is worth £ 4 billion, tops The Sunday Times Rich List which appeared today. Rausing is a tax exile from Sweden and has lived in Britain since the early 1980s.

The Duke of Westminster, who owns London’s smartest areas including most of Mayfair and Belgravia, is Britain's second richest person worth £ 3.7 billion.

Virgin Group founder Richard Branson jumps to third place. Branson, who has just tied-up with Air-India, has become much richer after selling a stake in Virgin Airways to Singapore Airlines for £ 600 million.

Fifty British Asian billionaires and millionaires have made it to the list of Britain's 1,000 richest people. They have all made fortunes of at least £ 30 million, which is the entry level for the list.

Mittal is also reckoned to be the 46th richest person in Europe according to The Sunday Times. Only five British-based billionaires make it to a list of the Top 50 richest people in Europe.

Wipro's Azim Premji is reckoned to be the world's third richest man, according to The Sunday Times with a fortune worth £ 35 billion. Premji comes in behind Bill Gates (£ 53 billion) and supermarket heir Rob Walton (£ 52 billion). according to the newspaper.

The Sunday Times estimates Premji's wealth are considerably higher than the generally accepted figures in India. Also, Premji's wealth has dropped during the last few weeks since The Sunday Times Rich List went to press.

The Hinduja family, who are worth £ 1.95 billion, make it to the eighth spot in The Sunday Times list. Their fortune has grown by £ 650 million since last year, but they stayed in the eighth position.

Lord Swraj Paul (£ 330 million) is Britain's third richest Asian in 79th position.

Mittal has made one of the fastest fortunes in Britain. He has grown by around £ 52 million each year since 1976, according to The Sunday Times.

Eight young Asians have also made it to the Top 100 Richest Under 30 category. The under-30 millionaires include computer industry whiz Tahir Mohsan who is 28 years old and worth £ 175 million.

Three Asians are amongst the Top 10 fashion chains in Britain. Tom Singh, who founded the New Look chain, is worth £ 175 million and Rasiklal Thakrar of the Ciro Citterio group, is worth £ 85 million.

Shami Ahmed, who founded the Joe Bloggs label, is worth £ 75 million, according to The Sunday Times. However, Ahmed has also started a hi-techventure capital fund, which held an IPO two weeks ago. As a result, he must already be worth much more.

Another Asian millionaire expected to make the list next year is Professor Madan Singh who could make £ 45 million after the flotation of his hi-tech company Knowledge Support Systems.

There are 62 Internet billionaires and millionaires in this year’s Rich List compared to only 10 last year. Also, the list includes a large number of rock stars like Paul McCartney (£ 550 million) and Mick Jagger (£ 150 million).

The hard driving stars of the motor racing industry are also creating great wealth in their wake. Bernie Ecclestone, the owner of Formula One Racing, is worth £ 2 billion. Former racing driver turned businessman Jackie Stewart is also worth £ 70 million.

The spectacle of new e-millionaires has created an extraordinary amount of interest in the super-rich. Last week three British newspapers produced their own rich lists. Also, Eastern Eye newspaper has just published its Richest Asian 200 which has been appearing for the last four years.

EXTERNAL LINK:
Carnegie would be jealous

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