Member Article

Top property owners worth over £100bn

The UK’s top 250 property developers and investors are said to be wealthier than New Zealand and nine EU members.

According to the latest Estates Gazette Rich List, the industry’s top investors and developers have broken through the £100bn mark for the first time.

The list suggests the collective wealth of the top 250 property toppers rose by £13.8bn, as their individual fortunes range in size from £7.5bn to £50m.Estates Gazette also identified a pool of “new wealth” in the list, as 187 of the entrants are self-made millionaires, as opposed to inherited money (63).

Among the 32 new entrants this year are Joseph Lau of Chinese Estates Holdings who is worth £4.14bn; Dragon’s Den star Peter ones with £402m and Dire Straits front man Mark Knopfler with £65m.

The Duke of Westminster remains at the top of the list, a position he has held since the list was first published in 2003.

Estates Gazette Rich List editor Noella Pio Kivlehan said: “The phenomenal wealth of our top 250, coming in at over £100bn, signals that the property market is back on track having suffered in the turbulent times of the last few years.

“That said, ownership is heavily concentrated around London and the south east. But with London now perhaps the world city – thanks to its vibrancy and safe haven status - there is every sign that savvy property investors’ wealth will grow.

“It’s significant too that there are more people on the list who made their fortune outside property and now see value in the sector. And despite the economic woes, there is proof that property can still deliver spectacular returns for entrepreneurs with flair: there are more self-made investors and developers on our list than those with ‘old money’.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .