The Sunday Times Rich List has been revealed for 2022 – and it shows that the wealthiest people in the UK have grown their fortunes to a record £170 billion this year.
The annual list details the wealthiest 250 people in the UK and, alongside the current Chancellor of the Exchequer, this year’s super-rich list features ten people from the North West – including a couple of lads from Salford.
According to The Times, Rishi Sunak is the first-ever frontline political figure to feature in its list since it began in 1989. He and his wife, Akshata Murty, join the 2022 list with a combined £730m fortune just days after the Chancellor told people the ‘next few months will be tough’.
This year’s list also includes a record number of 177 UK billionaires, six more than in 2021,
The full list, now in its 34th year, shows that whilst millions in the country are enduring extreme hardships as UK inflation hits its highest rate in 40 years, those at the other end of the scale are still enjoying all the spoils of the free market.
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As The Timesitself states: “This year’s analysis shows a golden era for the super rich has continued unchecked.
“This year’s top 250 now have more wealth than the entire 1,000 entries of the 2017 Rich List.”
On the 2022 North West list, Michael Platt, a 53-year-old Preston-born hedge fund manager and Tory donor who resides in Switzerland, has seen his fortune rise by £2bn in a year to make him the wealthiest in the region.
In 2020, Platt’s hedge fund BlueCrest Capital Management was fined $170million for misleading its investors and was accused of using a separate fund, run by its top traders, that invested employee’s money.
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Platt has knocked the Cheshire-based 7th Duke of Westminster, Hugh Grosvenor, off the top spot – placing Prince George’s billionaire godfather at second place in the North West with a fortune of £9.726bn.
In third place is Jim Ratcliffe, the Oldham-born CEO of the Ineos chemical group. Worth £6.075bn, he has recently made headlines for making a failed bid to buy Chelsea football club – leading to speculation that he may now turn his attention to Manchester United instead.
63-year-old Liverpudlian Tom Morris, the founder of the ever-popular Home Bargains, is fourth on the regional list – £766 million richer than last year.
Rochdale brothers Mohsin and Zuber, the Lancashire-born founders of Euro Garages and new majority shareholders in Asda, have increased their wealth by £50m. The duo is now worth £4.73bn.
Sixth on the list are B&M founders Simon, Bobby and Robin Arora with a combined wealth of £2.543bn, followed by former Trafford Centre owner John Whittaker (of the Peel Group) at £1.6bn.
Henry Moser of Cheadle-based finance group Together sits in ninth place with a fortune of £1.565bn, and last on the list are Fred and Peter Done, owners of the bookmaking chain Betfred.
The Rich List bases its findings on what is called ‘identifiable wealth’, meaning that which can be publicly seen. This includes values of land, property, art, horses, and shares in public companies.
The paper is unable to access bank accounts or other private finance records. The full list can be viewed on The Times website here.
Feature image – Flickr / Wikimedia Commons / Wikipedia
News
The Stone Roses’ Gary ‘Mani’ Mounfield has died aged 63
Daisy Jackson
Tributes are pouring in for Gary ‘Mani’ Mounfield, after it was announced that the Stone Roses legend has died at the age of 63.
The bassist, who was also part of Primal Scream, was born in Crumpsall and has been one of Manchester’s most beloved musical figures ever since finding fame in the 1980s.
Mani’s brother Greg broke the news this afternoon, writing on Facebook: “IT IS WITH THE HEAVIEST OF HEARTS THAT I HAVE TO ANNOUNCE THE SAD PASSING OF MY BROTHER GARY MANI MOUNFIELD. RIP RKID.”
Mani’s wife Imelda also passed away in late 2023 after a battle with bowel cancer, for which the pair had raised money and awareness since her diagnosis.
That included a huge star-studded fundraising party where Mani and Imelda raised more than £100k for The Christie and local NHS charities.
Mani and Imelda shared twin sons, who were born in 2012.
Tributes are now flooding in for Mani, especially from those who have also been a part of the Manchester music scene.
Stone Roses frontman Ian Brown posted on X: “REST IN PEACE MANi X”
Rowetta shared a photo with Mani and Imelda and wrote: “Back with your Imelda, Mani. Going to miss you so much. All my love to the boys, the family & all those who knew & loved him.”
Tim Burgess of The Charlatans fame said: “I shared this photo a week or so ago on Mani’s birthday. It never failed to bring a smile to my face – and that was exactly the same for the man himself.
“One of the absolute best in every way – such a beautiful friend. Love you Mani x x. Never to be forgotten”
Shaun Ryder wrote: “RIP Mani – my heartfelt condolences to his twin boys and all of his family X”
Reverend and the Makers shared: “My heart is broken. Found out this morning and just felt low as it gets all day.
“Mani was my musical hero and just a lovely genuine human. When my Dad died , he offered me the warmest and best advice. No fuss, privately, straight up and always available to everyone.
“I’m a bit ill myself at the minute and not ashamed to say I shed at tear at the news. See on the next one mate.
“A true legend of the game. RIP”
Echo and the Bunnymen wrote: “I’m absolutely gutted to hear the news about Mani, who I have always loved and always will love, deeply and forever. Like a brother.
“I am in shock to be honest. Please tell me I’m just having a bad, bad dream. My thoughts and feelings and Mani, love to all of his family from me. Mac Bunnyman Xxx”
Featured image: Paul Husband
News
Ticket touting officially banned to protect fans from rip-offs
Daisy Jackson
The government has officially banned ticket touting, making it illegal for tickets to be resold at inflated prices.
The new measures will destroy the operating model of ticket touts, who snap up tickets for theatre, sport and live music, then sell them on the secondary value for far more than their face value.
Oftentimes, touts use automated bots to buy large volumes of tickets at once, taking them away from real fans.
The government says it’s caused misery for millions of fans and damaged the live events industry.
But now, the practice is being banned, with the government making it illegal to sell tickets above face value (plus unavoidable fees like service charges).
Resale platforms will also have their service fees capped, and they’ll have a legal duty to monitor and enforce compliance with the price cap.
Individuals will also be banned from reselling more tickets than they were entitled to buy in the initial ticket sale.
Culture secretary Lisa Nandy said: “For too long, ticket touts have ripped off fans, using bots to snap up batches of tickets and resell them at sky-high prices. They’ve become a shadow industry on resale sites, acting without consequence.
“This government is putting fans first. Our new proposals will shut down the touts’ racket and make world-class music, comedy, theatre and sport affordable for everyone.”
Business Secretary Peter Kyle added: “The UK is home to a brilliant range of music, entertainers and sporting stars – but when fans are shut out – it only benefits the touts. That’s why we’re taking these bold measures to smash their model to pieces and make sure more fans can enjoy their favourite stars at a fair price.”
Dan Smith, lead singer of Bastille – who have been part of the campaign against ticket touting – said: “It’s such great news that the government has stepped up and introduced a price cap on resale tickets – something I’ve been campaigning for alongside O2 and the FanFair Alliance for a long time.
“It’s a good step towards protecting music fans from being ripped off and will allow more genuine fans to see their favourite artists perform at face value prices. I am welcoming a world where there are no more resellers snapping up all of the tickets and massively inflating their prices.”
According to analysis by the CMA, typical mark-ups on secondary market tickets exceed 50%, whilst investigations by Trading Standards has uncovered evidence of tickets being resold for up to six times their original cost.
It’s believed these new measures against ticket touts could save fans around £112 million annually, freeing up around 900,000 more tickets from the primary ticket sellers each year.
The use of strategies like dynamic pricing has also been a major source of frustration for fans – such as the method used during the Oasis reunion on-sale – and new rules mean that fans must be given 24 hours notice of tiered pricing, plus provide clearer price information during online queues.
Industry voices who have weight in today include Mumford & Sons, who said that touts have ‘taken advantage of the good will and passion of music fans for many years’; Ed Sheeran’s manager Stuart Camp, who said the announcement is ‘long overdue’; and Coldplay manager Phil Harvey, who added that the legislation will be ‘a game-changer’.
Georgina Pellant -
20th May 2022 
