The Sunday Times, on Friday, in its annual compilation of the United Kingdom’s (UK) richest people, listed some reasons for the drop in the number of billionaires to 156 in 2025, from 165 that made the list in 2024.
According to the Sunday Times, the 2025 decline is the biggest drop in billionaires since the list began in 1989.
The Rich List 2025 was topped by 85-year-old businessman Gopi Hinduja and family, for the fourth straight year, with a fortune of 35 billion pounds ($46.5 billion).
The second billionaire on the Rich List is the part owners of Newcastle — a soccer team in the UK— David and Simon Reuben and family, with a fortune of 26.87 billion pounds, while businessman Leonard Blavatnik was next with 25.73 billion pounds, the list showed.
According to reports, the U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs, which led to stock market turbulence, were one of the factors responsible for the net worth of some individuals with stakes in public companies to fall significantly.
The development comes at a time when the strength of the Labour government’s relationship with Britain’s business community and ultra wealthy is under intense pressure over revenue-raising tax changes, the report adds.
According to the paper, the end of a ‘non-dom’ tax exemption for wealthy foreigners, or non-domiciled residents, is also a possible reason for the decline in billionaires.
Britain’s ‘non-dom’ tax rules, which enable non-domiciled residents to pay little or no UK tax on money earned overseas, have long been contentious.
While the previous Conservative set out plans to toughen the rules in its last budget in March, the Labour government would go further by closing unspecified loopholes and introducing a new, residence-based scheme, Reuters reports.
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