The annual report by the Sunday Times revealed that more Australians have joined the list of their top 1,000 richest people in Britain.
This list includes prominent names like: Queen Elizabeth (£330m), Paul McCartney and wife Nancy Shevell (£710m), Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling (£570m) and chef Jamie Oliver and his wife Jools Oliver (£240m).
Thirteen entrepreneurs with Australian ties made the cut and are led by Sir Michael Hintze. The successful hedge fund manager is a regular entry on the Sunday Times list but has improved on last year’s 95th position and was placed at a very respectable 92nd position.
The Aussies and people with significant Australian connections on the Sunday Times UK rich list are:
#92. Sir Michael Hintze — £1.06 billion
Sir Michael grew up in Sydney.
#198. Rick Smith and family — £503 million
Scottish born Rick Smith arrived in Australian in 1959. He joined PFB Food Services and by 1998 he bought out PFB’s stakeholders which included Melbourne’s Liberman family.
#241. Mark Creasy — £425 million
Mr Creasy’s is considered one of Australia’s most successful prospectors and his wealth is estimated to be in the region of £1 billion. He took full ownership of Nova and Bollinger deposits in Western Australia in February this year.
#342. Graham Tuckwell — £273 million
Canberra born and bred Mr Tuckwell donated $50 million to the Australian National University last year to set up a local version of the Rhodes Scholarship. He lives in the UK but studied in Canberra at ANU. “His considerable fortune comes from his exchange-traded fund company, ETF Securities. An ETF allows investors to trade commodities on the share market,” says the Times report.
#364. Hilton Nathanson — £253 million
Nathanson is owner and visionary of Marble Bar which he opened in 2002 with his friend Gilad Hayeem. This University of Western Australia graduate was hired as an analyst by Michael Hintz when he moved to London.
#391. Tony and Christina Quinn — £246 million
Does Darrell Lea chocolate ring a bell? Scottish born couple Tony and Christina Quin saved the company from ruin but it is their pet food company, V.I.P Petfoods, which earned them their wealth.
#405. Danny Hill — £233 million
Irish born Danny Hill is now a resident of Monaco but accumulated his fortune in the mining sector during the nickel boom of the 1970’s. He then successfully tried his hand at property development specifically commercial and residential developments most of his fortune is invested in the Chardan Development Group who is primarily focussed on developments along the Australian Sunshine Coast.
#458. Bill Paterson — £200 million
“The Scottish-born Mr Paterson made his fortune with the Australian engineering firm WorleyParsons. He is no longer an executive director at the firm, but retains a stake,” reported the Times.
#514. Frank Timis — £180 million
Mr Timis previous owner of African Petroleum is a London-based entrepreneur worth £180 million. Mr Timis fled Romania in 1980 to live in Australia.
#545. Chris Ellis — £173 million
Chris Ellis, born in Liverpool, was part of the group that bought Excel Coal. In 1993 this Australian arm of the Italian energy company, then known as Agip, was purchased for a mere $30 million. A decade later it was sold for $1.8 billion.
#571. Russell Staley — £160 million
“A new entry on the list, Mr Staley was another early-stage employee at WorleyParsons. He has retired, but retains a stake,” said the Times.
#739. Seumas Dawes — £124 million
Mr Dawes, a London based banker who owns property in Sydney, sold £17 million worth shares in Ashmore Group — ANZ Banking Group’s old emerging-markets business — but, according to the Times report, still retains a stake.
