Sunday Times Rich List 2026: Wealthiest in UK revealed as David Beckham is first billionaire sportsman

The Beckhams now have a combined fortune of £1.185bn, compared to the £500m estimated net worth they had on the Sunday Times 2025 list
Tom Place, News Reporter
6 days ago

The Sunday Times Rich List has revealed the wealthiest individuals and families in the UK in 2026.

Sanjay and Dheeraj Hinduja top the list following the death of their father Gopichand Hinduja, the patriarch behind Indian Conglomerate Hinduja Group.

High profile billionaires including Sir James Dyson and Sir Jim Ratcliffe are also fixtures on the list once again.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has criticised the UK’s energy policy (Lucy North/PA)
Sir Jim Ratcliffe
PA Archive

The number of billionaires recorded by the list has increased to 157, up from 156 a year ago after a recent period of decline.

According to the list, Sir David Beckham has become Britain’s first billionaire sportsman, after he and wife Lady Victoria doubled their wealth in the last year.

The Beckhams now have a combined fortune of £1.185 billion, compared to the £500 million estimated net worth they had on the 2025 list.

David Beckham has paid tribute to his wife Victoria to commemorate US Mother’s Day (Ian West/PA)
David and Victoria Beckham
PA Archive

This significant increase in wealth is attributed to Sir David’s investments in the US, as the signing of Lionel Messi to Inter Miami until 2028 has lifted the value of his stake in the club, while revenues at Lady Beckham’s fashion line have topped £100 million.

Here are the 20 richest people and families in the UK, according to the list:

1. Sanjay and Dheeraj Hinduja and family – £38 billion

2. David and Simon Reuben and family – £27.971 billion

3. Sir Leonard Blavatnik – £26.852 billion

4. Idan Ofer – £24.481 billion

5. Guy, George, Alannah and Galen Weston and family – £18.939 billion

6. Christopher Harborne – £18.177 billion

7. Nik Storonsky – £16.411 billion

8. Alex Gerko – £16.006 billion

9. Sir Jim Ratcliffe – £15.194 billion

10. Igor and Dmitry Bukhman – £14.26 billion

11. Kirsten and Jorn Rausing – £12.6 billion

12. Michael Platt – £12.481 billion

13. Sir James Dyson and family – £12 billion

14. Lord Bamford and family – £10.318 billion

15. Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken and Michel de Carvalho – £10.215 billion

16. Barnaby and Merlin Swire and family – £9.736 billion

17. Denise, John and Peter Coates – £9.728 billion

18. The Duke of Westminster and the Grosvenor family – £9.677 billion

=19. Moshe Kantor – £8.888 billion

=19. Marit, Lisbet, Dame Sigrid and Sir Hans Rausing – £8.888 billion