Ashley tops Rich List – despite losing nearly £500m
Mike Ashley has retained his spot as the richest person in the East Midlands, according to The Sunday Times 2019 Rich List, but has lost almost half a billion pounds over the last year.
Ashley, who failed in his attempt to buy Debenhams recently, has been hit by the poor trading performance of Sports Direct and has been busy trying to bulk up his portfolio with deals to buy House of Fraser, Evans Cycles and Sofa.com. His is now worth £1.976bn, according to the Rich List.
Derbyshire entrepreneur John Bloor comes in second place, and is reported to be worth £1.912m. He has combined his construction business with motorcyle business Triumph to increase his personal wealth by £54m over the last 12 months.
Dunelm’s strong performance over the last year has seen owner Will Addderley and his family move up to third, adding £220m to their coffers.
| 1 | Mike Ashley | £1.976bn | down £461m |
| 2 | John Bloor | £1.912bn | up £54m |
| 3 | Will Adderley and family | £1.42bn | up £220m |
| 4 | Tony Langley | £1.345bn | no change |
| 5 | The Duke of Devonshire | £890m | up £10m |
| 6 | Freddie Linnett and the Murphy family | £713m | down £7m |
| 7 | David Ross | £668m | down £32m |
| 8 | David Wilson and family | £615m | up £12m |
| 9 | John Kirkland and family | £585m | up £55m |
| 10 | Sir David Samworth and family | £540m | down £50m |
| 11= | Michael Cornish and family | £500m | no change |
| 11= | Mel Morris | £500m | no change |
| 13 | Leon Max | £410m | no change |
| 14 | William Parente and family | £357m | up £9m |
| 15 | Robin Faccenda and family | £350m | up £20m |
| 16 | Sir Harry Djanogly and family | £300m | no change |
| 17 | Lord Heseltine and family | £281m | down £34m |
| 18 | Charles Wilson | £280m | up £30m |
| 19 | Max and Stephen Griggs | £264m | no change |
| 20 | David Clowes | £252m | no change |
Robert Watts, the compiler of The Sunday Times Rich List, said: “Today’s super-rich are often not who you think they would be. Our East Midlands Rich List includes a former squash coach, an ex-plasterer and someone who once sold flooring.
“But Mike Ashley, John Bloor and Mel Morris today have combined wealth of more than £4bn. They are typical of the self-made entrepreneurs who now dominate the pages of the Sunday Times Rich List.
“With the high street struggling and Brexit unresolved, it’s striking that many of the rich have actually seen their wealth fall over the past year. A quarter of those on this region’s Rich List are less affluent than a year ago. So the idea that the rich only ever get richer isn’t necessarily true.”
