The list also includes NRI industrialists such as Prakash Lohia, Lord Swraj Paul and family, Anil Agarwal and Ajay Kalsi and family in the top 100.
Further down the list are British Sikh hotelier Jasminder Singh and family at 121st rank with 840 million pounds, Navin and Varsha Engineer at 123rd position with 810 million pounds from their pharmaceuticals business, and the Jatania brothers at 170th with 600 million pounds.
Philip Beresford, who has compiled the list since 1989, said: “I've never seen such a phenomenal rise in personal wealth as the growth in the fortunes of Britain's 1,000 richest people over the past year.”
“The richest have had an astonishing year, and while some may criticise them, many of these people are at the heart of the economy and their success brings more jobs and more wealth for the country,” Beresford said.
One of the world's most active philanthropists, 60-year-old Usmanov sold a USD 525 million stake in Facebook last year and has sold out of Apple, preferring to focus on Chinese tech companies. He controls Metalloinvest, Russia's largest iron ore producer, and MegaFon, its second-biggest mobile phone operator.
In reference to Mittal, the Times highlighted a final bounce in fortunes after a few years of dip. “After a tough few years in the steel industry, Mittal is seeing a glimmer of hope. ArcelorMittal has seen its shares recover, making his stake worth 6.65 billion pounds - up 700 million pounds on last year but still well below its 2008 peak. Mittal, 63, who spent eight years at the top of the Rich List, plans to shave nearly 2 billion pounds in costs next year,” it said.
Mittal's brother-in-law India-born textiles and plastics tycoon Lohia, 61, is ranked as Britain's 45th richest man with around 2.11 billion pounds.
Leading NRI industrialist and Caparo chief Lord Swraj Paul is ranked Britain's 47th richest, with an estimated wealth of 2 billion pounds. He is also the chancellor of Westminster and Wolverhampton universities. “Paul, 83, came to Britain from India in 1966 to seek treatment for his daughter's leukaemia. He stayed after her death and founded steel manufacturer Caparo, which made more than 62 million pounds profit in 2013.
