Dame Irene Hays moves down Sunday Times rich list

Hays Travel owner Dame Irene Hays and her family have moved down the annual Sunday Times Rich List.

Hays and her family dropped from 250th place to 273rd with £488 million, down £103 million.

Last year she was listed with £591 million, having made her debut in 2024. The figure for last year figure represented a £191 million increase on 2024.

Dame Irene said: “Hays Travel is a family business that our customers and 4,800 colleagues have confidence in.

“Since opening in 1980, we have never taken on any debt and have always taken a conservative financial approach, reinvesting profits to support our colleagues, customers, and the communities where we operate.

“We achieve this through our Hays Travel Charitable Foundation and our Local Community Partnership activities.”

Trailfinders founder Sir Mike Gooley also slipped, down from 230th last year to 296th this year, with £433 million – a fall of £246 million. Last year’s list noted an increase of £279 million to £679 million.

Other travel figures on the list include Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson, who is in 67th place, with £2.4 billion; easyJet founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou and family, who are in 102nd spot with £1.628 billion, and Jet2 founder Philip Meeson, ranked 242nd with £579 million.

Topping the list for the fifth year running is industrialist Gopi Hinduja and family with £38 billion – up from £35 billion last year.

More: Hays Travel owner calls for economic certainty as booking window narrows

Hays Travel records pre-tax profit of £81m [Nov 2025]

Dame Irene Hays climbs Sunday Times rich list [May 2025]