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Sunday Times Rich List shows how the wealthy are defying the recession

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Despite the UK dipping into another recession, its wealthiest 1,000 people have become even richer over the past year, according to latest figures. 

Bucking the economic downturn and record unemployment, the super-rich have so far enjoyed a great 2012, with the combined wealth of the richest 1,000 now standing at a record £414.26 billion, up 4.7 per cent. 

The previous high of £412.85 billion in 2008 was set months before the financial crash from which the rest of Britain has yet to fully recover.

Steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal (left) is number one on the Rich List followed by Alisher Usmanov (right)

There are 77 billionaires in the 2012 rich list this year, two more than the previous record of 75 in 2008.

The threshold to be among the 1,000 richest people in Britain rose by £2 million on last year - with individuals needing at least £72 milon to make the list.

The figures were released in the annual Rich List from The Sunday Times.

ROLLING IN IT: TOP 10 BILLIONAIRES

1. Lakshmi Mittal and family - £12.7bn

2. Alisher Usmanov - £12.3bn

3. Roman Abramovich - £9.5bn

4. Sri and Gopi Hinduja - £8.6bn

5. Leonard Blavatnik - £7.58bn

6. Ernesto and Kirsty Bertarelli - £7.4bn

7. The Duke of Westminster - £7.35bn

8. David and Simon Reuben - £7.08bn

9. John Fredriksen and family - £6.6bn

10.Galen and George Weston and family - £5.9bn

Holding on to the top spot is steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, 61, who actually saw 27 per cent wiped off the value of his family fortune in the last year as a result of the dramatic drop in the share value of his principal business, the giant steel producer ArcelorMittal.

The Mittals have now been number one in the rich list continuously since 2005.

British-born billionaires, including diamond retailer Laurence Graff, Sir Richard Branson, head of the Virgin empire, bag-less vacuum cleaner inventor Sir James Dyson and JCB owner Sir Anthony Bamford, have enjoyed sharp rises in their fortunes.

The richest woman is Staffordshire-born former Miss UK Kirsty Bertarelli, who shares a £7.4 billion fortune with her husband Ernesto.

Stakes in social media websites, including Facebook, Linkedin and Badoo have boosted the wealth of a number of millionaires in the latest rich list.

Loaded: Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich (left) and Indian billionaire Gopi Hinduja (right)

Andrey Andreev, 38, the London-based Russian businessman who founded the online dating site Badoo, is a new entrant in the list worth £500 million.

Joanna Shields, the European vice-president of Facebook, is expected to add to her wealth when the business floats.

Mr Mittal and his family were worth £4.8 billion less than last year with £12.7 billion, leaving them just ahead of Uzbek metals magnate and Arsenal shareholder Alisher Usmanov on £12.3 billion

Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich came in third with £9.5 billion, down £800 million on last year.The wealthiest Briton is the Duke of Westminster, in seventh place with an estimated £7.35 billion thanks to his central London property empire.

Top of the list of the wealthiest people under 30 is Thomas Persson, 25, whose family clothing chain H&M means he and his brother Karl-Johan are valued at £700 million, while Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe is in eighth place with a personal fortune of £54 million. Singer Adele is worth £20 million, making her the wealthiest young musician.

Worth a fortune: Galen Weston (left) made the top ten in the Rich List with Norwegian John Fredriksen (right)

Topshop mogul Sir Philip Green and his wife have lost almost a quarter of their personal fortune over the past 12 months.

The couple - who recently spent an estimated £6 million on a celebrity-studded beach party to celebrate Sir Philip's 60th birthday - are today worth £3.3 billion, down from £4.2 billion, the Daily Telegraph reports.

Sir Philip ranked at number 13 in last year's Sunday Times Rich List, but in the latest update of the nation's richest people he is placed at 17.

The Green's clothing-store empire includes the well-known high street brands Miss Selfridge, Dorothy Perkins, Evans, Wallis, BHS, Topshop and Topman.

Overall profits in parent company Arcadia fell 38 per cent in 2010-11, which Sir Philip blamed at the time on an unseasonably warm autumn that had dented sales of winter clothing.

The revelations of Sir Philip's drop in fortune comes after the magnate celebrated his birthday in Mexico last month in typically flamboyant style and with no expense spared.






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