Eight out of 10 richest people in Province saw wealth grow since 2019

The 32nd yearly Rich List compiled by The Sunday Times looked at the 1,000 wealthiest people in the UK, concluding that 27 of them were born, living in, or had “substantial interests in or businesses based in Northern Ireland”.
By Adam Kula
Published 17th May 2020, 18:35 BST
Updated 20th May 2020, 10:39 BST
Lord Ballyedmond and his wife Lady Ballyedmond, the vice-chairwoman of Norbrook, in 2005Lord Ballyedmond and his wife Lady Ballyedmond, the vice-chairwoman of Norbrook, in 2005
Lord Ballyedmond and his wife Lady Ballyedmond, the vice-chairwoman of Norbrook, in 2005

The paper said the figures reflect the position until the end of April and so to some extent, the list will reflect the shrinking economic landscape since the coronavirus crisis bit in during mid-March.

The Northern Irish people on the list had a combined wealth of £7.464bn.

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And top of the list was Lady Ballyedmond and family, with wealth estimated at £1.345bn.

The top 10The top 10
The top 10

Her husband started Newry animal pharmaceutical firm Norbrook in 1969, and died in a helicopter crash in March 2014. She is the firm’s vice-chairwoman.

Despite having the “highly successful” nature of the firm, her and her family’s wealth, according to The Sunday Times, dipped by £293m year-on-year.

Next richest on the list is Martin Naughton and family. They own Glen Dimplex in Newry, described as “the world’s biggest maker of electric heaters”.

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The firm recently underwent restructuring, and is operating amid whatThe Times calls “the Brexit slowdown and a change in its accounting period”.

The Naughton pot of wealth dipped by £74m to £1.158bn.

However, the remaining eight people in the Northern Irish top 10 grew their wealth.

A spokeswoman for the Sunday Times said that the whole list “has been revalued since the stock market crash of February and the coronavirus shutdown of March”, adding that “the valuations are bang up to date as at the end of April”.

Robert Watts, the compiler of The Sunday Times Rich List, said: “The province’s wealthiest entrepreneurs and business leaders have fared better than those on the UK mainland, with just two entries in our Northern Ireland Rich List seeing a fall in their wealth over the past year.

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“It is too early to assess the economic impact of the Covid pandemic and we expect next year’s Sunday Times Rich List will show further declines in wealth.”

Top of the UK-wide Rich List is vaccum tycoon Sir James Dyson and family, with an estimated wealth of £16.2bn.

The top 10 also includes one aristocrat: Hugh Grosvenor, the Duke of Westminster whose wealth and that of his family is estimated at £10.3bn.

See the full list here:

Related topics:ProvinceNorthern IrelandThe Sunday TimesDuke of WestminsterNewry