Surrey-based family remain the richest in South East England, according to this year’s edition of The Sunday Times Rich List.

The Sunday Times Magazine – published today online at https://www.thetimes.co.uk/sunday-times-rich-list and in the print edition of the newspaper on Sunday, May 19 – reveals the largest fall in the billionaire count in the guide’s 36-year history, from a peak of 177 in 2022 to 165 this year.

This year’s list of 350 individuals and families together hold combined wealth of £795.361 billion — a sum larger than the annual GDP of Poland.

Sir Elton John, Lord Lloyd-Webber and David and Victoria Beckham all appear in the annual survey. The minimum entry for the list of 350 this year is £350 million.

NEWMARKET, ENGLAND - MAY 05: Kirsten Rausing poses at Newmarket Racecourse on May 05, 2024 in Newmarket, England. (Photo by Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images)

placeholder image — NEWMARKET, ENGLAND - MAY 05: Kirsten Rausing poses at Newmarket Racecourse on May 05, 2024 in Newmarket, England. (Photo by Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images)

Surrey-based Jorn Rausing, 64, and family remain the richest in South East England, with a large fortune of £12.634 billion. Jorn and his sister Kirsten each own a third of Tetra Laval, a packaging company founded by their grandfather. Jorn was also an early investor in Ocado.

Other members of the Rausing family - Marit, Lisbet, Sigrid and Hans - are ranked second richest in the South East list with over £9 billion worth of wealth. Marit and family donated four percent of their wealth to charitable causes over the past year, amounting to £367.3 million.

Buckinghamshire-based Vishal Karia maintains his spot on the young list this year, even with the age bracket widening to under 40.

After being expelled from school and diagnosed with ADHD Karia founded the fragrance brand, Affinity. The sales at Affinity Fragrances have topped £100 million in seven years, making the wholesale giant £116 million.

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - OCTOBER 23: Billionaire Hans Rausing (R) and wife Julia Rausing (L) attend an Autumn Gala Evening in Support of Action on Addiction at L'Anima on October 23, 2014 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Justin Tallis - WPA Pool/Getty Images)

And after a post-pandemic boom, Barnaby Swire, along with his brother and family, have seen their wealth soar to £17.2 billion, ranking in the top 10 of the Rich List, and the richest people in the South East.

Robert Watts, compiler of the Sunday Times Rich List, said: “This year’s Sunday Times Rich List suggests Britain’s billionaire boom has come to an end.

“Many of our home-grown entrepreneurs have seen their fortunes fall and some of the global super rich who came here are moving away.

“Thousands of British livelihoods rely on the super-rich to some extent. We’ll have to wait and see whether we have now reached peak billionaire, and what that means for our economy.

“These may be harder times to create wealth, but The Sunday Times Rich List continues to unearth entrepreneurs building fortunes in diverse and often surprising ways.

“This year’s new entries include people who have made money from artificial intelligence and virtual worlds as well as plumbing supplies and teaching aides.

“We know many of our readers find such people – especially those from humbler backgrounds – very inspiring.”

For the full 350 richest people in the UK go online at www.thetimes.co.uk/sunday-times-rich-list.