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Fortunes of British wealthiest people boosted by Brexit

Xinhua, May 7, 2017 Adjust font size:

The wealth of Britain's 1,000 richest people has been boosted in the past year by 14 percent, fuelled by the country's decision to quit the European Union.

The annual rich list published Sunday revealed the total wealth of the richest people has gone up in the past 12 months by 83 billion pounds (108 billion U.S. dollars) to a record 658 billion pounds (855 billion U.S. dollars).

The list, published by the Sunday Times, revealed that London has 86 billionaires, more than any other city in the world.

It also showed that 19 of the country's mega rich have seen their wealth grow in the past year by a billion pounds or more.

"The astonishing strength of this year's Rich List defies expectations that wealth would stall in the lead up to last summer's EU referendum and then crash after the decision to leave the EU," said the newspaper in its editorial.

Instead a buoyant stock market has propelled the fortunes of many business leaders and entrepreneurs, the report added.

The list is headed by the Indian-born brothers Sri and Gopi Hinduja who have seen their wealth from property, oil, plastics and finance surge by 3.2 billion pounds (4.15 billion U.S. dollars) to 16.2 billion pounds (21 billion U.S. dollars).

The Sunday Times said this year the wealthiest people required a record 110 million pounds (143 million U.S.dollars) to break into the elite top 1,000.

The list coincided with a poll by YouGov for the newspaper showing that people considered an annual salary of 100,000 pounds (130,000 U.S. dollars) was enough to be considered as rich.

The poll also showed most people believe the super rich should pay higher taxes.

J.K. Rowling, author of the globally famous Harry Potter stories has conjured up a magical fortune of 650 million pounds (844 million U.S. dollars) thanks to her family of fictitious wizards and witches.

Rowling is one of a record 130 women to reach the top 1,000 rich list.

Alastair McCall, who edited the Rich List, said: "While many of us worried about the outcome of the EU referendum, many of Britain's richest people just kept calm and carried on making billions.

"We expected to see a chilling effect in the run-up to the EU referendum, but that simply did not materialize."

All but one of the top 25 in the list has seen massive increases in their wealth. Enditem