The Birmingham Post Rich List reveals the 50 most wealthy people in Birmingham and the West Midands every year – and 2019 features 13 entries from the Black Country.
Like the main list, covering the whole West Midlands region, it is the billionaire football club owners who are which is topping the wealthiest of the wealthy tables.
In the Black Country it is Wolverhampton Wanderers owner Guo Guangchang who takes the premier position with his £4.2billion fortune.
Following him in the money league is West Bromwich Albion owner Guochuan Lai who has got £2.5 billion, who takes the second ranking in the Black Country.
Former Baggies owner Jeremy Peace is still making the list, making it to number 9 in the Black Country list, and 31= in the main list, being worth £200m.
In the overall Birmingham Post Rich List Aston Villa co-owner Nassef Sawiris has knocked Guo Guangchang off the top spot with his £5.2 billion wealth - making him the richest person in the West Midlands ever.
Back in the Black Country the area’s proud industrial heritage is apparent as three manufacturing magnates make the list – Lord Paul of Marylebone (Caparo) (No 3); Jacques Gaston Murray and family (Andrew Sykes) (No 4); and Jeremy Woolridge and family (Wedge Group) (No 10).
Overall the Birmingham Post Rich List saw the region’s billionaires increase from eight to 10 from last year and the combined wealth of the 50 most wealthy people grow by £9 billion to £37 billion.
As in previous years, there are no individual entries for women.
The list is compiled by journalist Ian Strachan and this year it is sponsored by bespoke investment management company Quilter Cheviot.
Ian said: The entrepreneurship of Midlands people and the hard work and determination of those who were born here or have chosen to make our region their home or commercial base have combined to ensure that the money keeps rolling in for the wealthiest individuals and families.
“Many on our list came from humble backgrounds, but have used their talents, combined with hard work or just a great idea to join the exclusive club of multi-millionaires.
Very few in our league table of the 50 super-rich has inherited their fortune through ancestral accident.”
To see the full Birmingham Post Rich list click here
Here are the richest people in the Black Country
(number in brackets shows ranking on main list)
1 (3) Guo Guangchang (Wolverhampton Wanderers) £4.2 billion Football/Investment – 2018 No 1 £4.6bn – Wolverhampton
Bought Wolves for £30 million in 2016 and saw the club achieve promotion to the Champions League last year.
His company, Fosun International, a diversified company involved in healthcare, fashion, tourism and property – founded in China in 1992 – has racked up latest reported profits of £1.5bn, sales of £10bn and assets of £60bn.
2 (4) Guochuan Lai (West Bromwich Albion) £2.5 billion (£2.6bn) Football/Eco-towns – 2018 No 3 £2.6bn – West Bromwich
In its last year in the Premier League, West Brom achieved a record turnover of £140 million and a £39 million pre-tax profit boosted by a bumper windfall from the Premier League’s TV deal.
But a after a £40 million transfer market spending spree and declining income following relegation, the club has taken the precaution of establishing short term financial support, setting up an overdraft facility for the first time in more than a decade.
Guochuan Lai is a director of subsidiaries of Chinese landscaping giant Palm; including Belt Collins International, Palm Landscape (Hong Kong), and Palm Design Holdings.
In addition he has a number of growing private investments in technology, virtual reality, tourism and sport.
3 (8) Lord Paul of Marylebone (Caparo) £1.5 billion Manufacturing – 2018 No 11 £700m – Wolverhampton
Lord Paul’s business interests have pretty much recovered from the steel industry crisis which saw much of its UK assets go into administration before being acquired by the Gupta family’s Liberty House Group.
However, some of the Caparo group – of which Lord Paul is chairman – survived, and it still has extensive property investments in the UK and Switzerland, as well as three hotels. And the group’s international operations are performing extremely well.
4 (9) Jacques Gaston Murray and family (Andrew Sykes) £1.2 billion Manufacturing – 2018 No 9 £1.2bn – Wolverhampton
At just under a year off 100, Jacques Gaston Murray is the oldest person in our list by some distance, but he still takes an active interest in his Wolverhampton air conditioning Andrew Sykes Group and heating firm, despite being resident in Switzerland.
Andrew Sykse turnover rose by £5.9 million to £71.3 million for the year to December 2017 with pre-tax profits t £17.3 million.
His other business is the £125 million tunrover Leeds-based London Security plc.
The family also has six hotels worth around £400 million.
5 (14) Ranjit and Baljinder Boparan (2 Sisters) £700 million Food – 2018 No 10 £750m – West Bromwich
The 2 Sisters Food Group, based in West Bromwich, has been selling off loss-making divisions and streamlining the business to concentrate on core operations as it copes with falling profits and a challenging marketplace.
The company’s new chief executive Ronald Kers, previously global chief executive at Muller, is overseeing the turnaround plan.
The business is the UK’s largest grocery supplier and owns brands including Bernard Matthews and Giraffe Concepts – which includes Ed’s Easy Diner, Harry Ramsden’s and The Cinnamon Collection – Buxted Chickens, Hovis breakfast biscuits and Fox’s Biscuits
6 (15) Caspar MacDonald-Hall (LCP) £600 million Property – 2018 No 13 £560m – Kingswinford
London and Cambridge Properties (LCP), based in Kingswinford, has become one of the most active players on the Midlands property scene, and is currenty working on a £9m development at Prime Point on thePensett Estate.
It has more than 400 sites across the Midlands, the south west, Yorkshire, Lancashire, London and County Durham.
7 (16) Richard Harpin (HomeServe) £520 million (£360m) Insurance – 2018 No 18 £360m – Walsall
The rapid growth of Walsall-based HomeServe, especially in the US, has increased the share price and dividends.
The company strengthened its grip on the trade sector with the acquisition of online platform Checkatrade in 2017.
It has 8.3 million customers in the UK, US and Europe.
8 (17) Roy Richardson and family (Richardsons) £480 million Construction – 2018 No 15 £480m – Sandwell
One of property magnate Roy Richardson’s latest investments has nothing whatever to do with construction. He has put £30,000 into Burning Barn, a smoked rum producer in Solihull.
It’s all part of the Richardson Brothers Foundation’s efforts to support young businesses and back entrepreneurs in the region. Indian snacks firm Green Sisters and hi-tech cycle helmet developer Beacon helmet have also received help.
The Richardson family is best known for creating Merry Hill Shopping Centre.
The company is now run by Roy’s sons. Projects include a two-third stake in Manchester-based commercial property developer Ask, transforming the Lowesmoor area of Worcester and 50 per cent stake in a £600 million scheme to resurrect Ravenscraig steelworks near Motherwell. It is also growing internationally and has developments across Europe.
9 (31=) Jeremy Peace (WBA/Quadrant) £190 million (£200m) Finance/Football 2018 No 36 £200m – West Bromwich
After nearly 16 years at the club Jeremy Peace sold his 88 per cent share of West Bromwich Albion football club in 2016, netting more than £175 million.
Aged 62, the former banker Jeremy Peace is a lifelong Baggies supporter – he was born and bred in West Bromwich and later attended Shrewsbury School.
10 (39=) Jeremy Woolridge and family (Wedge Group) £150 million (£125m) Manufacturing – 2018 No 43 £125m – Willenhall
The Willenhall-based Wedge Group, which galvanises steel and iron components, has moved its head office of 150 years to a former school in Stafford Street.
Despite being hit by rising zinc prices it remains a profitable company. Jeremy Woolridge, 74, is executive chairman of B E Wedge Holdings.
He began the Wedge Group in 1966, became managing director in 1974 and chairman in 1987.
His son, Chris, took over as managing director in 2014.
11 (39=) Simon and Yu-Lin Wilson (Intouch Games) £150 million Gaming – 2018 No 37 £145m – Halesowen
Halesowen-based Intouch Games was crowned West Midlands Digitsl Business of the Year in 2018.
The e-gaming firm behind Pocketwin and mFortune was initialy a slot machine and jukebox manufacturer supplying the pub trade.
It developed its first mobile phone casino system in 2006 which resulted in rapid growth. It has more than 60 games and two million players across its brands, and employs more than 300 people in the UK and Bucharest.
12 (39=) Rupert Mucklow (A&J Mucklow) £150 million Construction – 2018 No 32= £160m – Halesowen
The listed Halesowen firm is currently recruiting a chief executive after its long-serving managing director, Justin Parker, announced he was stepping down at the end of 2018.
The business has seen profits booosted by a revaluation of its investment properties, as the regional property investment market became more subdued.
The company focussed on creating its own industrial investments, with pre-let developments where there is good occupier demand, including Mucklow Park in Tyseley.
13 (43) Constantine Folkes (Folkes Holdings) £130 million (£128m) Property/Manufacturing – 2018 No 32 £128m – Lye
A game reserve in the Eastern Cape region of South Africa and metal-bashing in the Black Country have combined to create a healthy income for Constantine Folkes. His wealth is boosted by a portfolio of industrial property.
Its major property interest in the UK is a 1.4 million sq ft portfolio of largely industrial property with more than 90 tenants across the West and East Midlands.
In South Africa, the operation is an active developer and investor - largely in the industrial warehouse sector - with assets in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban. The company also holds 25,000 acres of agricultural land in the Eastern Cape - the Glen Harry Game Reserve. The land is home to a rare game breeding programme including buffalo and sable antelope and offers eco-tourism safaris.
If you are on a desktop or tablet you can view the Birmingham Post Rich List 2019 supplement here
