This May sees the annual publication of the Sunday Times Rich List 2020. The UK remains a popular choice for the uber wealthy to call home, with London ranked as the top global city of choice for billionaires. The Rich List records 89 billionaires living in the Capital, ahead of New York, Los Angeles, Moscow and Beijing.
Robert Watts, who compiled the Rich List for The Sunday Times, reports in his analysis, that the most significant change in the wealth of the richest in Britain, is that it has gone into reverse for the first time in 11 years. This has largely been due to the global economic impact of Coronavirus. “The total wealth shared by all 1,000 entries has fallen by 3.7% to £742.6 billion, while the minimum wealth needed for this year’s Rich List has stayed at the 2019 level of £120 million.”
The report shows that the commitment to charitable giving and philanthropy continues to build. Many individuals and families have stepped-in to support charities whose incomes have been hit due to Coronavirus. The Charities Aid Foundation Sunday Times Giving List ranks the UK’s most generous donors by a proportion of wealth given. The Sainsbury family are the largest contributors, having given a total of £170.80 million to arts, heritage, education and humanitarian causes. This is followed by Dame Janet de Botton and family and financier, Jonathan Ruffer, who is well known for the restoration of Co Durham’s Auckland Castle.
Support for the arts, collections and education can be seen across the board. Stormzy was noted for his University of Cambridge scholarships for British black students and Chris Martin and Coldplay for giving over £1.55 million to organisations working with young people. Retired Hedge Fund manager, Chris Levett, (= 551, with a net worth of £128million) describes how he has opened The Museum of Classical art in Mougins, France, to share his lifetime collection of art and antiquities. He is currently digitising the collection to allow other museum curators to see what is available for loans.
For full details of the Sunday Times Rich List 2020 and analysis, please visit: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/sunday-times-rich-list
Photo: Auckland Castle, County Durham. Photograph by Graeme Peacock, courtesy of The Auckland Project