The 'Northern Irish Elon Musk' adds best part of £1 billion to his wealth as he tops the Ulster names on the 2023 Rich List

The annual list, compiled by The Sunday Times and published online today (and in full in this Sunday’s paper edition), breaks down the wealth amassed by various figures in the worlds of business, entertainment, and sport.

Here are the top five Northern Irish names:

• 1 – Stephen Fitzpatrick:

Sector: energy and transport

Firms: OVO and Vertical Aerospace

£2.212bn (up £872m)

• 2 – Lady Ballyedmond and family:

Sector: pharmaceuticals

Firm: Norbrook (animal medicines)

£1.05bn (down £197m)

• 3 – Martin Naughton and family:

Sector: household goods

Firm: Glen Dimplex (makers of electric heaters, showers, and cookers)

£850m (up £50m)

• 4 – Robert and William Barnett and family:

Sector: food distribution and packaging

Firm: W&R Barnett (founded in 1896 as a grain merchant, today it is a multinational group which moves molasses, oils, and animal feed, and owns the Belfast feed brand Thompson’s)

£525m (new entry)

• 5 – Michael Loughran and family:

Sector: fuel distribution

Firm: LCC (a fuel group incorporating Star Fuels, Campsie Fuels, Click Oil, and the Go petrol station business, as well as international coal shipping and processing)

£500m (new entry)

Compared to them, Co Down golfing legend Rory McIlroy is a relative pauper, with wealth estimated at a “mere” £200m.

Stephen Fitzpatrick was the number one NI name on the list last year too, but then his wealth was estimated at £1.34bn (up £665m on the year before).

He reportedly used to attend Our Lady and St Patrick’s College, a grammar school in east Belfast.

In 2021 both the Daily Mail and Evening Standard called him “Britain’s Elon Musk”, after the founder of electric car firm Tesla and rocket company SpaceX.

He is in his mid-40s and runs Ovo Energy and Vertical Aerospace, both based in Bristol, south-west England.

The first business touts itself as a green energy supplier, focussing on offering renewable-powered electricity to consumers.

The second produces futuristic-looking aircraft which are a kind of a cross between a car, a drone, and a helicopter.

It can take off vertically using four drone-style propellors.

These can then move to aeroplane-style positions once aloft, propelling it forward at speed.

The craft it is currently focussed on is called the VX4.

His firm describes the vehicle follows: “With speeds over 200mph, near silent when in flight, zero emissions and low cost per passenger mile, the VX4 is going to open up urban air mobility to a whole range of passengers and transform how we travel.”

More from this reporter:

• 'IRA are ghastly murderous thugs and we must remember that - starting with Gerry Adams'

• Detectives trying to solve attempted murder of John Caldwell now have 16,667 days'-worth of CCTV footage