Sunday Times Rich List 2024 reveals North West's wealthiest people

With a combined wealth of around £56.3 billion, the assets of the region’s five most monied residents equal the GDP of Slovenia. 

The North West’s wealthiest magnate by a country mile is Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who sits on a whopping £23.5 billion pile.

The Mancunian ex-engineer is majority shareholder of the global chemical giant, Ineos Group, which has plants in Northwich and Runcorn, as well as salt mining interests in Winsford and Middlewich.

Growing up on a council estate near Manchester, the 71-year-old didn’t start Ineos until he was in his 40s.

Early this year, he fulfilled a lifetime ambition of securing a 25 per cent stake in his childhood football club, Manchester United. 

Mancunian Sir Jim Ratcliffe is majority shareholder of global chemical giant, Ineos Group (Image: PA) 

This year, Sir Jim has lost more wealth - £6.1 billion - than our fifth richest residents possess in total, yet he's still managed to hold on to the top slot.

Billionaire financier, Michael Platt, comes in at number two, with a cool £12 billion tucked away under his metaphorical mattress.

Preston-born Platt is the son of a University of Manchester academic, and puts his financial savvy down to his old granny, who loved a flutter on the stock market.

He’s believed to have made a bit of a killing by investing in newly privatised utility companies in the 1980s and 90s.

Platt worked as a trader for JP Morgan from 1991, and co-founded a hedge fund, BlueCrest Capital Management, in 2000, which is now Europe’s third-biggest.

Local lad Hugh Grosvenor, the Duke of Westminster, inherited a multi-billion property fortune from his dad in 2016 (Image: The Times)

Hugh Grosvenor, the seventh Duke of Westminster, comes in third with a nest egg of £10.1 billion, up £248 million on last year.

His grace inherited global property firm, Grosvenor Group, from his late father, the sixth duke, in 2016.

The legacy included the 11,000-acre Eaton Estate near Chester, the 23,000-acre Abbeystead Estate in Lancashire, which is run as the duke's private grouse moor, and the 100,000-acre Reay Forest Estate in the Scottish Highlands.

But the jewel in the crown is perhaps the duke’s London property portfolio, which includes 300 acres of Mayfair and Belgravia, some of the most valuable property on the planet.

The 33-year-old recently announced his intention to make Cheshire his main base after his upcoming marriage to Miss Olivia Henson in June.

Home Bargains, solely owned by Tom Morris and his family, has big plans to expand even further (Image: Google)

Because everyone loves a bargain, number four on the region’s rich list is Scouser Tom Morris, who’s managed to squirrel away assets of £6.7 billion from selling his wares.

Founder of discount retail chain, Home Bargain, the 70-year-old opened his first shop in Old Swan, Liverpool, in 1976, using his overdraft for start-up capital, insiders have claimed.

Morris’ wealth is up about half-a-billion on last year, and with plans to increase the number of Home Bargains nationwide by 25 per cent, he may well be climbing even high up the list in years to come.

Mohsin and Zuber Issa own the EG Group, which runs petrol stations, as well as being majority shareholders in Asda (Image: PA)

If, like me, your local garage mini-mart has recently become an Asda, look no further than Blackburn-born British-Indian billionaire brothers, Mohsin and Zuber Issa.

By virtue of their petrol garage empire, EG Group, the pair sit on a tasty £5 billion fortune, though this is down £50 million on last year.

The brothers are also majority shareholders in Asda, which explains the store’s near ubiquitous presence wherever you fill-up the car.

They’ve also had a pop at buying Topshop, Boots, McColl’s, Subway, and Caffé Nero, but failed to close any of the deals.

Robert Watts, who compiled the Sunday Times Rich List, said: “We know many of our readers find such people, especially those from humbler backgrounds, very inspiring.” 

“This year’s list suggests Britain’s billionaire boom has come to an end. Many of our home-grown entrepreneurs have seen their fortunes fall and some of the global super rich who came here are moving away. 

“These may be harder times to create wealth, but The Sunday Times Rich List continues to unearth entrepreneurs building fortunes in diverse and often surprising ways.

"This year’s new entries include people who have made money from artificial intelligence and virtual worlds as well as plumbing supplies and teaching aides."