EasyJet founder Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou and his family are reported to have fallen down more than 20 places down the latest Sunday Times Rich List following the Brexit vote.
Their worth fell by £640 million over the previous year to £1.95 billion, placing them 64th in the annual rankings of the UK’s richest people, a fall from 41st place.
The Rich List said: “The morning after the referendum easyJet’s shares nosedived – and have yet to recover.
“The Athens-born entrepreneur and his family have a 34% stake in the budget airline worth £1.29 billion, a drop of £770 million since last year.”
Haji-Ioannou stepped down as chairman of the budget carrier in 2002 and has since diversified with his London-based easyGroup businesses, including easyHotel, which after its float is valued at £88.9 million, putting the family stake at £49.5 million.
EasyGroup has received £385 million in dividends from easyJet In the past five years, while its Stelmar shipping company was sold to a British firm for £470 million, netting it about £94 million.
“But generous dividends and the rallying share price of the hotel operation cannot offset the losses to Monaco resident Haji-Ioannou from the airline’s plummeting stock market value,” the Rich List said.
Philip Meeson, executive chairman of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays owner Dart Group, also suffered a fall down the list as shares in the Leeds-based business plummeted following the Brexit vote. His worth is estimated to have dropped by £90 million to £296 million, placing him in 399th place on the list, down from 290th a year earlier.
However, Virgin Group founder Sir Richard Branson and his family saw their fortune rise by £345 million to £4.865 billion, despite dropping down the list from 19th to 23rd place this year.
“Last year he sold his 30% share in his Virgin America airline for £540 million and among other holdings he has stakes worth £330 million in Virgin Atlantic, £530 million in Virgin Money and £180 million in Virgin Active,” the Rich List said.
“His Virgin Trains, run in partnership with Stagecoach, the transport operator founded by Sir Brian Souter and his sister Ann Gloag, is also worth £100 million.
“Cash and properties valued at £1.1 billion take Branson to £4.865 billion this year.”
Skyscanner co-founder Gareth Williams is a new entry at 525th place with £215 million following the sale of the business to Chinese firm Ctrip.
Other travel-related figures appearing in the list include:
Edwardian Hotels owner Jasminder Singh and family in 128th place with £1.035 billion
Bourne Leisure co-founder Peter Harris and family in 189th place with £680 million
Exeter, Norwich and Coventry airports and Eden Hotel Collection owner Sir Peter Rigby in 209th place with £600 million
Boutique hotel owners Tim and Kit Kemp of Firmdale Hotels in 275th place with £450 million
Southall Travel owner Kuljinder Bahia and family in 293rd place with £420 million
Trailfinders founder Mike Gooley in 329th place with £360 million
Hotelier Sir Rocco Forte and family in 349th place with £340 million
London hotel owner Firoz Kassam in 371st place with £315 million
Imperial London Hotels owners the Walduck family in 374th place with £310 million
Big Bus Tours founders Richard, Desmond and Eleanor Maybury in 422nd place with £270 million
Bourne Leisure shareholder Colin Allen and family in 431rd place with £267 million
Hand Picked Hotels owners Guy and Julia Hands in 433rd place with £265 million
Arora Hotels owner Surinder Arora is a new entry in 443rd place with £258 million
Apex Hotels founder Norman Springfield and family in 485th place with £235 million
Bmi Regional owners Stephen and Peter Bond in 503rd place with £225 million
Former Gullivers Travel Associates co-founder David Babai, who now runs Hong Kong-based travel wholesaler G2 Travel, in 513rd place with £220 million
Former Airtours founder David Crossland and family in 567th pace with £200 million
Former British Midland and Bmi chairman Lord Glendonbrook in equal 567th place with £200 million
Abercrombie & Kent founder Geoffrey Kent in equal 586th place with £195 million
Andrew Goodsell, who led two management buyouts of Saga Group, in equal 586th place with £195 million
AirAsia founder Tony Fernandes in 626th place with £184 million
Lotus Group founder Peter Stephens in 694th place with £160 million
Former Gold Medal Travel Group founder Ken Townsley in 694th place with £160 million