Sunday Times Rich List 2026: Sir James Dyson tops South West rankings

The annual survey charts the finances of the 350 wealthiest people in the UK

Tech tycoon Sir James Dyson and family are the wealthiest people in the West of England, the latest Sunday Times Rich List has revealed.

The British inventor retains the top spot for the South West region, despite a 13.5 per cent decline in revenues at Dyson’s consumer electricals group over the past two years, partly due to President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

Sir James, who acquired a 50 per cent stake in Bath Rugby Group earlier this year, is one of the country’s best-known inventors, coming up with the first idea for a new model vacuum cleaner in 1979 and growing his business into one of the world’s biggest household goods firms.

However, over the last 12 months he has seen his wealth drop by £8.8bn – from £20.8bn in 2025 to £12bn. The company employs thousands of people at its base near Malmesbury, in Wiltshire, although it is now headquartered in Singapore.

Elsewhere, Plymouth retail mogul Chris Dawson and his wife Sarah were ranked the second-richest people in the region. The couple who own The Range saw their wealth grow by £50m to £2.65bn, while Peter Hargreaves, co-founder of Bristol-based investment firm Hargreaves Lansdown, saw his wealth jump to £2.325bn.

This year’s list of 350 individuals and families together holds combined wealth of £783.5bn – a sum larger than the annual GDP of Belgium ($776bn), Sweden ($760bn) and Israel ($719bn), according to the Sunday Times. It represents about a quarter of the United Kingdom’s total annual GDP.

Sir Elton John, Lord Lloyd-Webber, Sir Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, JK Rowling, Charlotte Tilbury and Sir Lewis Hamilton all appear in the annual survey.

The rankings are topped by investors Sanjay and Dheeraj Hinduja and family (£38bn) with Newcastle United minority owners David and Simon Reuben second (£28bn), and DAZN majority owner Sir Leonard Blavatnik in third (£26.8bn).

The minimum entry level dips to £340m — another indicator of a subdued year.

Robert Watts, compiler of the Sunday Times Rich List, said: “This year’s 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’t feature this time.

“Many foreign billionaires who have been living in the UK have also dropped out because they have moved away. We have also seen a sharp rise in the number of British nationals now resident in Dubai, Switzerland and Monaco. As UK nationals these people remain on our Rich List — wherever they now live.

“These 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 – if any – will Rachel Reeves’s Treasury be able to extract from those affluent Brits who have now left the country?”

He added: “This year’s 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.”

The 10 wealthiest in the South West according to Sunday Times Rich List 2026

1

Sir James Dyson and family

£12bn

2

Chris and Sarah Dawson

£2.65bn

3

Peter Hargreaves

£2.325bn

4

Douglas and Dame Mary Perkins and family

£1.409bn

5

Steve Lansdown

£1.25bn

6

Lord Vestey and family

£739m

7

James Benamor

£683m

8

Nigel Spokes and family

£663m

9

Andrew Nisbet and family

£572m

10

Julian Dunkerton and Jade Holland Cooper

£518m