Andrew Lloyd Webber still top of rich list despite '£20m hit' from pandemic

Andrew Lloyd Webber is expected to take a £20 million hit to his fortune as a result of the coronavirus crisis, according to the Sunday Times Rich List.

The 72-year-old composer stands to lose millions of pounds due to the closure of his theatres in the West End and on Broadway, the compilers of the list have calculated.

He has also had to delay the London opening of his musical Cinderella, scripted by Killing Eve’s Emerald Fennell, as a result of the pandemic.

However, he still tops the list of wealthiest musicians along with Sir Paul McCartney, 77, with a calculated wealth of £800 million.

Lord Lloyd-Webber’s LW Theatres showed assets of £63 million in 2018-19, with the separate Really Useful Group Investments making profits of £7 million on turnover of £61.4 million.

He topped the list alone in 2019, with a fortune of £820 million.

Earlier this month producer and theatre owner Sir Cameron Mackintosh said West End theatres may not reopen until next year if social distancing measures stay in place.

National Theatre boss Rufus Norris also warned said things were "getting pretty desperate" and feared if there was no support most theatres would close.

Currently the National Theatre is surviving with the government's furlough scheme but it needs an extension to survive.