Sunday Times Rich List: See the wealthiest people in the Midlands - and what they're worth

Currently the chairman of Staffordshire digger giant JCB's wealth is estimated at £7.65 billion, up by £1.75bn from last year.

The list is published online today and will be in the print edition of the newspaper on Sunday, May 19.

The 76-page special edition of The Sunday Times Magazine reveals the largest fall in the billionaire count in the guide’s 36-year history, from a peak of 177 in 2022 to 165 this year.

This year’s list of 350 individuals and families together hold combined wealth of £795.3 billion — a sum larger than the annual GDP of Poland. Sir Elton John, Lord Lloyd-Webber and David and Victoria Beckham all appear in the annual survey. The minimum entry for the list of 350 this year is £350 million.

The second richest family in the Midlands, the Coates family, of Stoke-on-Trent's Bet365 donated more than £120 million to charity, even after a difficult year, in which their wealth dipped by £1.32bn. This fall in their fortune, to £7.46bn, has caused Denise, John and Peter Coates and family to slip four places to 20th on the overall list.

Robert Watts, compiler of the Sunday Times Rich List, said: “This year’s Sunday Times Rich List suggests Britain’s billionaire boom has come to an end. Many of our home-grown entrepreneurs have seen their fortunes fall and some of the global super rich who came here are moving away.

“Thousands of British livelihoods rely on the super-rich to some extent. We’ll have to wait and see whether we have now reached peak billionaire, and what that means for our economy.

“These may be harder times to create wealth, but The Sunday Times Rich List continues to unearth entrepreneurs building fortunes in diverse and often surprising ways. This year’s new entries include people who have made money from artificial intelligence and virtual worlds as well as plumbing supplies and teaching aides.

“We know many of our readers find such people — especially those from humbler backgrounds — very inspiring.”

Walsall-born Mike Ashley, of sports equipment and fashion business Frasers Group, is third in the Midlands. His wealth was down £41 million to £3.79bn.

Fifth richest in the region is the Murray family whose wealth is in plant hire, property and fire protection.

French-born Tony Murray died in June last year aged 103 and he has been succeeded as chairman at Wolverhampton-based Andrews Sykes Group by his son Jean-Jacques Murray.

The family's wealth rose £68m to £2.8bn.

5 wealthiest in the Midlands

1. Lord Bamford and family - £7.65bn

2. Denise, John and Pete Coates and family - £7.467bn

3. Mike Ashley - £3.799bn

4. John Bloor - £3.396bn

5. The Murray family - £2.8bn

Wealthiest 40 under 40 in the Midlands

1. Ben Francis (Gymshark) - £725m (40 under 40 rank, 5)

2. Dan and Melanie Marsden (Lounge Underwear) - £151m (40 under 40 rank, 20)

3. Lewis Morgan (Gymshark) - £150m (40 under 40 rank, 21)

4. Alex and David Campbell (SureScreen) - £217m (40 under 40 rank, 24)