Northern Ireland's wealthiest people revealed in Sunday Times rich list

Northern Ireland's wealthiest people have been revealed by The Sunday Times.

Stephen Fitzpatrick has topped the list according to the new edition of The Rich List, published today online and in the print edition of the newspaper on Sunday, May 21.

Belfast-born entrepreneur Stephen Fitzpatrick founded the fast-growing energy giant Ovo. His wealth is estimated at £2.212 billion - up £872 million from last year, although the shares in his flying taxi venture have plummeted. Rory McIlroy is this year’s richest sportsperson in the UK under the age of 35, and the richest young person in the region.

The Northern Irish golfer has boosted his £60 million earnings on the fairways with sponsorship deals from big names such as Nike. Last year the 34-year-old founded the tech-focused TMRW Sports with Tiger Woods. It launches the TGL golf league next year. A new entry on the list in Northern Ireland this year is traders Robert and William Barnett and family who are valued at £525 million. Belfast-based W&R Barnett has storage, grain-dealing and packaging arms. Robert is chairman of the family-owned business. The 68-page special edition of The Sunday Times Magazine reveals the wealth of the 350 richest people in Britain in its 35th annual edition. There are 171 billionaires in the UK recorded this year, down six from 2022. The combined wealth of the UK billionaires is £683.856 billion, up £30.734 billion, or 4.5 per cent, on the total wealth of the billionaires in last year’s Rich List.

Overall, the richest 350 in the UK this year are worth £796.459 billion. Robert Watts, compiler of the Sunday Times Rich List, said: "This year's Sunday Times Rich List shows a golden period for the super rich is over. For the first time in 14 years we've seen the number of UK billionaires fall. "Two years ago we raised concerns about an unsettling boom in the fortunes of the very wealthy that continued unchecked during the political instability around Brexit and the pandemic. This is not a crash - but there are household names who have lost vast sums over the past year. The bursting of the tech bubble, the end of rock bottom interests and the jitters creeping through the banking industry have all taken their toll. “The super rich don't exist in a vacuum. Many small investors lost money in some of their overblown stock market floats. Many people also work for their businesses. Financial losses for billionaires can have implications for us all."

Northern Ireland's rich list

Stephen Fitzpatrick Source: Energy and transport: OVO and Vertical Aerospace £2.212bn Up £872m

Lady Ballyedmond and family Source: Pharmaceuticals: Norbrook £1.05bn Down £197m

Martin Naughton and family Source: Household goods: Glen Dimplex £850m Up £50m Robert and William Barnett and family Source: Food distribution and packaging: W&R Barnett £525m New entry Michael Loughran and family Source: Fuel distribution: LCC £500m New entry

For the full list visit https://www.thetimes.co.uk/sunday-times-rich-list

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