• Swindon & Wiltshire Economy
• Friday May 16 2025

James Dyson still South West’s richest man – Sunday Times Rich List

Sir James Dyson remains the wealthiest person in the South West, according to the latest Sunday Times Rich List.

Published this weekend, the annual roundup also shows the wealth of OVO Energy founder Stephen Fitzpatrick and the founders of Hargreaves Lansdown have seen their wealth soar.

Inventor James Dyson is worth £20.8 billion, according to the list – unchanged from last year – although in the national rankings he has climbed from fifth to fourth place.

The eponymous company employs more than 3,000 people at its campus in Malmesbury. Earlier this year the firm rowed back on plans to open a new tech hub on Bristol’s harbourside.

Stephen Fitzpatrick is now the second richest man in the South West and 54th nationally with a fortune of £3.073 billion – up £2.239 billion on last year, giving him the fith largest annual rise in wealth nationally.

In January, Ovo Energy bought out its founder in a deal valued at £150 million. He also founded Bristol-based Vertical Aerospace, which develops electrically powered VTOL aircraft.

Entrepreneurs Sir Dennis and Lady Gillings are in third place, with a fortune of £2.6 billion – down from £4.7 billion: the fourth largest loss nationally on the list. They are the co-founders of GHO Capital, Europe’s leading healthcare private equity group. Nationally they sit at 64th place.

At fourth place in the South West list, and 73rd nationally, Peter Hargreaves saw his wealth jump after the sale of Hargreaves Lansdown in 2024. His wealth is now valued at £2.3 billion – up £457 million on last year. Co-founder Steve Lansdown’s wealth is valued at £1.25 billion – up £82 million on last year, giving him the seventh-place spot on the regional list and 127th nationally.

One billionaire not to feature in the South West list is hedge fund manager Chris Rokos. While he is still considered to be Shropshire based, he is renovating the Grade I listed Tottenham House and estate, near Marlborough, which he intends to make his family home. His wealth is listed at £2.6 billion, and has climbed six places to 64th on the national list.

The Sunday Times Rich List looks at “identifiable wealth” including land, property, assets such as art and racehorses, or significant shares in publicly quoted companies. It excludes private bank accounts.

“The actual size of someone’s fortune may be much larger than our conservative figures,” admit the authors.

The Sunday Times says this year sees the largest fall in the billionaire count in the guide’s 37-year history, from a peak of 177 in 2022 to 156 this year. “Donald Trump’s tariffs and the ensuing stock market turbulence,” have been blamed, along with a small number of billionaires leaving the UK due to tax changes introduced by the Conservative and Labour governments over the past 24 months.