Economic downturn hits UK's super-rich

This year's Sunday Times Rich List, a list of the top 1,000 richest people in the UK, shows that the economic downturn has had an effect on the rich as well as the poor. Last year, this group had £413 billion which has now fallen to £285 billion. The richest man in the UK, Indian steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, has seen his wealth fall 61% from 2008 to £10.8 billion, and the overall number of billionaires has fallen from 75 to 43. 

In the 21 years of the Rich List, this is the biggest collective fall in the wealth of the 1,000 richest people. 

The Rich List Top Ten  

1. Lakshmi Mittal and family, steel (£10.88bn)

2. Roman Abramovich, oil and industry (£7bn)

3. The Duke of Westminster, property (£6.5bn)

4. Ernesto and Kirsty Bertarelli, pharmaceuticals (£5bn)

5. Hans Rausing and family, packaging (£4bn)

6. Sir Philip and Lady Green, retailing (£3.83bn)

7. Charlene and Michel de Carvalho, inheritance, brewing and banking (£2.96bn)

8. Sammy and Eyal Ofer, shipping and property(£2.68bn)

9 = John Fredriksen, shipping (£2.5bn)

9 = David and Simon Reuben, property (£2.5bn)

9 = Kirsten and Jorn Rausing, inheritance and investment(£2.5bn

9 = Joe Lewis, foreign exchange and investment(£2.5bn)

(Source BBC website)