The Sunday Times’ annual rich list of the UK's wealthiest individuals is full of landowners, aristocrats and, increasingly, tech founders.
And some of those startup billionaires are worth even more (at least on paper) than some "proper" celebrities.
Johnny Boufarhat, founder of events platform and pandemic darling Hopin, finds himself in third spot on the list of Britain’s richest people under 35, with £1.7bn in his kitty. That makes him worth more than singer Ed Sheeran or footballer Harry Kane.
Hopin, at one point Europe’s fastest-growing startup, reached a valuation of $7.8bn in 2021. Things have been less rosy since then — data platform Beauhurst estimates the startup’s valuation to be a mere £661m now.
Also on the list is Ben Francis, who founded Gymshark in 2012 from his parent’s garage, and is estimated to have a personal wealth of £900m. The gymwear company was valued at over $1bn when it last raised in 2020 and the Sunday Times estimates it's now worth £1.5bn.
Gymshark cofounder Lewis Morgan is also on the list, with an estimated wealth of £160m.
Brothers Oliver and Alexander Kent-Braham, the founders of Marshmallow, a car insurance startup, are worth a combined £455m according to the list.
The other tech entrepreneurs on the list include SaaS unicorn Paddle’s founder Christian Owens and adtech startup Audimob founder Christian Facey, whose wealth is estimated at £50m.
