Travel billionaires Sir Richard Branson and Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou saw their fortunes swell over the past year, despite the impact of the pandemic in the UK and around the world.
The Sunday Times 2021 Rich List shows that Virgin founder Branson and his family are now worth £3.79 billion – up £165 million on last year – although they slipped five places to 45th on the ranking.
EasyJet founder Haji-Ioannou rose from 85th to 77th on the list as he and his family saw their fortune increase by £421 million to £2.18 billion.
Sir Roger and Peter De Haan – sons of Saga founder Sidney De Haan – dropped from 163 last year to 180 on the list although their net worth rose by £24 million to £900 million.
The Sunday Times said that Branson sold £405 million of Virgin Galactic shares a year ago to prop up Virgin Atlantic and other parts of his empire hit by the pandemic.
“After failing to secure the taxpayer bailout he was pushing for, Branson plugged in £200 million of his own money and set about reshaping Virgin Atlantic,” said the newspaper.
“As he scales back his flagship airline, Branson is expanding other parts of his empire. Las Vegas is home to the latest venue in his chain of luxury hotels and there are others planned. He is also moving into the world of cruise ships with his Virgin Voyages set to take to the seas this summer.”
Commenting on Haji-Ioannou, the Sunday Times noted that the share price of easyJet has “taken flight” again in recent months.
He retains the rights to the easyJet brand and receives 0.25% of each easyJet ticket sold.
He has diversified with a range of businesses under the “easy” tag and floated his easyHotel chain on the stock market in 2014.
This year’s Rich List identifies a record 171 UK billionaires — 24 more than in 2020 and the biggest jump in the 33 years The Sunday Times has been tracking the fortunes of the UK’s most affluent people.
Ukranian-born oil and media magnate Sir Leonard Blavatnik has topped the list, having seen his fortune grow to £23 billion.
2021 rank and source of wealth (2020 rank in brackets)
21 (25) Barnaby and Merlin Swire and family, Industry, transport and property (Cathay Pacific) £6.5bn (up £1.7bn)
45 (40) Sir Richard Branson and family, Transport, finance and fitness clubs £3.79bn (up £165m)
77 (85) Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou and family, Aviation: easyJet £2.175bn (up £421m)
180 (163) Sir Roger and Peter De Haan, Travel and insurance: Saga £900m (up £24m)