{"id":225,"date":"2026-05-15T14:56:38","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T14:56:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sawconcepts.com\/?p=225"},"modified":"2026-06-01T15:25:56","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T15:25:56","slug":"rich-list-2026-retail-giant-stays-on-top-as-new-scottish-tech-billionaire-breaks-through","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/sawconcepts.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/15\/rich-list-2026-retail-giant-stays-on-top-as-new-scottish-tech-billionaire-breaks-through\/","title":{"rendered":"Rich List 2026: retail giant stays on top as new Scottish tech billionaire breaks through"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Anders Holch Povlsen tops the Scotland list, according to this year\u2019s edition of THE SUNDAY Times Rich List<\/strong>, published today online at https:\/\/www.thetimes.com\/Sunday-times-rich-list<\/a> and in a 76-page special edition of THE SUNDAY Times<\/strong> Magazine<\/strong> on Sunday, May 17.<\/p>\n

Povlsen is Scotland\u2019s largest landowner and owns the Shetland rocket launchpad. Rising profits lifted the value of his retail group, Bestseller, to \u00a36.5 billion and there were dividends of almost \u00a3350 million. His agricultural company has made gains of \u00a338.3 million.<\/p>\n

Peter Hamilton joins the billionaire club. In his teens Hamilton saved \u00a31,300 from his job washing dishes in a pub to buy his first computer. He set up Halo, a developer of software used by the Ministry of Justice, Microsoft, Red Bull and the University of Cambridge. A deal with private equity valued the Suffolk-based firm, in which Hamilton owns 73 per cent of the shares, at $2 billion.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s list of 350 individuals and families<\/strong> together holds combined wealth of \u00a3783.5<\/strong> billion <\/strong>\u2014 a sum larger than the annual GDP of Belgium<\/strong> ($776 billion), Sweden<\/strong> ($760 billion) and Israel<\/strong> ($719 billion). It represents about a quarter of the UK’s total annual GDP.<\/p>\n

Sir Elton John<\/strong>, Lord Lloyd-Webber<\/strong>, Sir Mick Jagger<\/strong>, Keith Richards<\/strong>, JK Rowling, Charlotte Tilbury and Sir Lewis Hamilton <\/strong>all appear in the annual survey.<\/p>\n

The minimum entry level dips to \u00a3340 million \u2014 another indicator of a subdued year. <\/p>\n

Robert Watts, compiler of The Sunday Times Rich List<\/strong>, said: \u201cThis year\u2019s Rich List is a tale of two exoduses. One in six of the individuals and families who appeared on the list two years ago don\u2019t feature this time.  <\/p>\n

\u201cMany foreign billionaires who have been living in the UK drop out because they have moved away. We have also seen a strong rise in the number of British nationals now resident in Dubai, Switzerland and Monaco. As UK nationals these people remain on our Rich List \u2014 wherever they now live. <\/p>\n

\u201cThese two exoduses pose challenges for the UK economy and its public finances. Will more of the wealthy now set up or grow their ventures overseas and in doing so create fewer jobs here? How much tax \u2014 if any \u2014 will Rachel Reeves\u2019s Treasury be able to extract from those affluent Brits who have now left the country?<\/p>\n

\u201cFor nearly 40 years THE SUNDAY Times Rich List has analysed the fortunes of Britain\u2019s most affluent people. We believe understanding where wealth lies and where it is being accumulated is a vital part of a functioning democracy. <\/p>\n

\u201cOver the years our research has told us a lot about our country, charting the way a generation of largely self-made entrepreneurs overtook the old money of the landed gentry. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis year\u2019s edition shines a light on fortunes made from artificial intelligence, driverless cars and crypto-currencies as well as baby milk, make-up, hoodies and other everyday items. We know many of our readers find those rags-to-riches stories of entrepreneurs who started out with little more than a laptop and an idea particularly inspiring.\u201d<\/p>\n

THE SUNDAY TIMES RICH LIST 2026 \u2013 THE 10 WEALTHIEST IN SCOTLAND <\/strong><\/p>\n

Rise in wealth \u25b2 Fall in wealth \u25bc No change \u25a0  New entry \u2605 Re-entry \u25c6<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
2026<\/strong>Rank <\/strong><\/td>\nName<\/strong><\/td>\nEstimated wealth 2026<\/strong><\/td>\nSource of Wealth<\/strong><\/td>\nRise\/Fall<\/strong><\/td>\nEstimated wealth 2025<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1<\/td>\nAnders Holch Povlsen<\/td>\n\u00a38.287bn <\/td>\nRetailer <\/td>\n\u25b2 <\/td>\n\u00a37.704bn <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/td>\nGlenn Gordon and family<\/td>\n\u00a34.745bn <\/td>\nWhisky dynasty <\/td>\n\u25bc <\/td>\n\u00a36.398bn <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3<\/td>\nSir Ian Wood and family<\/td>\n\u00a31.876bn <\/td>\nIndustrialist <\/td>\n\u25bc <\/td>\n\u00a31.914bn <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4<\/td>\nLady (Philomena) Clark and family<\/td>\n\u00a31.733bn <\/td>\nHeiress <\/td>\n\u25b2 <\/td>\n\u00a31.656bn <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5<\/td>\nSandy and James Easdale<\/td>\n\u00a31.47bn <\/td>\nBus barons <\/td>\n\u25b2 <\/td>\n\u00a31.46bn <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
6<\/td>\nChristopher Thomson and family<\/td>\n\u00a31.384bn <\/td>\nMedia dynasty <\/td>\n\u25bc <\/td>\n\u00a31.446bn <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
7<\/td>\nPaul Hamilton<\/td>\n\u00a31.081bn<\/td>\nSoftware<\/td>\n\u2605<\/td>\nNEW ENTRY<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
8<\/td>\nJK Rowling<\/td>\n\u00a3975m <\/td>\nWriter <\/td>\n\u25b2 <\/td>\n\u00a3945m <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
9<\/td>\nSir Brian Souter and Dame Ann Gloag<\/td>\n\u00a3878m <\/td>\nBus barons <\/td>\n\u25b2 <\/td>\n\u00a3805m <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
10<\/td>\nLord Laidlaw <\/td>\n\u00a3725m <\/td>\nEntrepreneur <\/td>\n\u25bc <\/td>\n\u00a3730m <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/figure>\n

THE WEALTHIEST UNDER THE AGE OF 40 IN SCOTLAND<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n
Regional<\/strong>Rank <\/strong><\/td>\nNational <\/strong>40 Under 40 Rank<\/strong><\/td>\nName<\/strong><\/td>\n2026 Wealth<\/strong><\/td>\nSource of Wealth<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1<\/strong><\/td>\n36=<\/td>\nSir Andy Murray <\/td>\n\u00a3110m<\/td>\nSport<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/figure>\n

For the full 350 richest people in the UK go online at <\/strong>www.thetimes.com\/Sunday-times-rich-list<\/a><\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Anders Holch Povlsen tops the Scotland list, according to this year\u2019s edition of THE SUNDAY Times Rich List, published today online at https:\/\/www.thetimes.com\/Sunday-times-rich-list and in a 76-page special edition of THE SUNDAY Times Magazine on Sunday, May 17. Povlsen is Scotland\u2019s largest landowner and owns the Shetland rocket launchpad. Rising profits lifted the value of his retail group, Bestseller, to \u00a36.5 billion and there […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":227,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/sawconcepts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/sawconcepts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/sawconcepts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sawconcepts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sawconcepts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=225"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/sawconcepts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":228,"href":"http:\/\/sawconcepts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225\/revisions\/228"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sawconcepts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/227"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/sawconcepts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sawconcepts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sawconcepts.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}