Sir David Beckham and the Gallagher brothers among the biggest winners in 2026 Sunday Times Rich List | UK News

The UK’s wealthiest people have been revealed in the Sunday Times Rich List, with the likes of Sir David Beckham and the Gallagher brothers raking in huge amounts over the last 12 months.

The former England captain became the UK’s first billionaire sportsman, with this year’s list also featuring Liam and Noel Gallagher for the first time.

In the top spot, on £38bn, are Sanjay and Dheeraj Hinduja and family. They were also No. 1 last year under former family head Gopi Hinduja, who died in November.

They own the India-based Hinduja Group, a sprawling conglomerate that employs around 200,000 people globally.

This year’s biggest gainer in the list is 41-year-old Nik Storonsky, the owner of fintech company Revolut.

His wealth is estimated to have rocketed from £6.97bn to £16.41bn – an average gain of nearly £26m a day – after a round of fundraising valued his business at £55.6bn.

Fellow Moscow-born billionaire Alex Gerko, the mathematician who set up trading platform XTX, also jumped from £8.74bn to £16bn, and sits eighth in the list.

There are also some notable fallers, such as Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, whose petrochemicals business Ineos had a tougher year and brought his fortune down nearly £2bn to £15.19bn.

Inventor Sir James Dyson is said to have taken an even bigger hit. He is now worth £12bn according to the list – £8bn less than last year.

New entries for 2026 include Liam and Noel Gallagher (£375m), whose coffers were supercharged by their sell-out Oasis reunion gigs, and Glastonbury organiser Emily Eavis.

The festival is now owned by a family trust, and experts have suggested it could be worth £400m.

David and Victoria Beckham are also believed to have doubled their wealth in the last year to make Sir David the list’s first billionaire sportsman.

Boxing and snooker promoters Eddie and Barry Hearn are also said to crossed the billionaire threshold, while the King is estimated to be worth £680m.

There are now 157 UK billionaires, 20 less than four years ago, and the minimum entry level has dipped to £340m.

The compiler of the list, Robert Watts, called it a “tale of two exoduses” as one in six families who appeared two years ago don’t feature in 2026.

“Many foreign billionaires who have been living in the UK have also dropped out because they have moved away,” he said.

“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.”

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The flight of many ultra-wealthy people has been blamed on government action such as the ending of non-domiciled status, which allowed people to avoid tax on income earned outside the UK.

“These two exoduses pose challenges for the UK economy and its public finances,” added Mr Watts.

“Will more of the wealthy now set up or grow their ventures overseas and in doing so create fewer jobs here? How much tax – if any – will Rachel Reeves’ Treasury be able to extract from those affluent Brits who have now left the country.”

The list is based on identifiable wealth, including land, property, and assets such as art and racehorses, or shares in publicly quoted companies. It excludes bank accounts, to which the paper has no access.