David Beckham has become the UK’s first billionaire sportsman, while Noel and Liam Gallagher have made their debut on the Sunday Times Rich List, according to the 2026 edition published today.
The collective fortune of Sir David and his wife, fashion designer Victoria Beckham, is now estimated at £1.2 billion. The Oasis frontmen, long known for their rocky relationship, are together worth £375 million.
Topping the list for the fifth consecutive year are brothers Sanjay and Dheeraj Hinduja and their family, whose Hinduja Group commands a £38 billion empire spanning oil, gas, banking and transport.
The year’s biggest risers are Revolut co-founder Nik Storonsky (£16.4 billion) and trading entrepreneur Alex Gerko (£16 billion), placing them seventh and eighth respectively. Meanwhile, inventor Sir James Dyson saw the sharpest fall, dropping £8.8 billion to £12 billion, partly blamed on US tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump.
The Sunday Times now counts 157 UK billionaires — 20 fewer than four years ago. King Charles saw his estimated wealth grow by £40 million to £680 million, moving him to 230th place and ahead of former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty (£563 million).
New entrants include Glastonbury organiser Emily Eavis and her family (£400 million). Eavis told the BBC last year: “As much as there is talk about our profit… we also try to give away as much money as we can.” Another debutant is Reform UK donor Christopher Harborne, who placed sixth after a record £5 million gift to Nigel Farage in 2024.
Robert Watts, compiler of the list, called this year’s edition “a tale of two exoduses,” noting that one in six individuals from two years ago no longer feature — many foreign billionaires have left the UK, while a rising number of British nationals now reside in Dubai, Switzerland and Monaco.
The annual survey also includes Sir Elton John, J.K. Rowling, Sir Lewis Hamilton, and boxer Tyson Fury, who debuts on the 40 under 40 list. Gymshark founder Ben Francis, who dropped out of university to build his sportswear brand, placed fifth on that ranking with £800 million.
