The ‘king’ of Britain’s migrant hotels has a soaring £750million fortune that has catapulted him into Britain’s Rich List for the first time in 2024.
Graham King, a former caravan park and disco tycoon, is believed to be making £3.5million a day – all from the taxpayer – for accommodating and transporting arrivals due to the UK’s migrant crisis.
He has amassed a personal fortune of £750million from housing asylum seekers and his holiday parks – making him the 221st richest person in the UK, according to the Sunday Times’ annual rich list.
He is expected to become Britain’s first immigration industry billionaire because he has a contract with the Home Office that will last until September 2029.
The list of Britain’s 350 wealthiest individuals and families together hold combined wealth of £795.36 billion, according to the new data. Some have joked it could be called ‘The Rishi List’ – after the PM and his wife Akshata Murty’s fortune surged by more than £120 million over the past year.
King Charles has also seen his fortune rise by £10million to £610million – but the overall number of billionaires in the UK appears to have peaked and now dropped.
The Hindujas have again topped Britain’s rich list – and are worth £2billion more than a year ago with an extraordinary net worth of £37.2billion in 2024. The family, led by Indian-British billionaire businessman Gopi Hinduja, boss of the Indian conglomerate Hinduja Group continue to make money hand over fist.
Beatle Sir Paul McCartney has become the first billionaire musician from the UK, at the age of 81, up £50million since 2023, while Harry Potter author JK Rowling is approaching her first £1billion with an estimated wealth of £945million.
This is Graham King, a former caravan park and disco tycoon. He made £25million in 2021 thanks to a Home Office contract to house asylum seekers in southern England and Wales
Britain’s richest gypsy Alfie Best is now worth £947million, the Sunday Times says, just weeks after he moved to Monaco and told MailOnline he won’t return to ‘Broken Britain’
Graham King’s entry marks an extraordinary turn around for him and his family.
At the turn of the century he was running a caravan park in Canvey Island, Essex, with his brother.
He branched out after a disco he ran lost its licence and he suggested he could use the building – a former cinema – to house refugees instead.
His firm made the news when a council chose to house benefit claimants in its caravans. It was also in the firing line when inspectors found it was putting up asylum seekers in ‘decrepit’ and ‘run-down’ conditions at a former barracks in Kent and an Army camp in Pembrokeshire.
Mr King’s wealth has put his son and daughter through a £44,000-a-year boarding school and funded the family’s globe-trotting holidays and Alpine ski trips. His daughter Catalina is studying to be an artist and her creations include £10 prints bearing the slogan ‘Will trade racists for refugees’.
Alfie Best – Britain’s richest gypsy – has a fortune of £947million, according to the Sunday Times.
He said three weeks ago: ‘It is true I will not pay any income tax….I am going to start a business here and have no intention of returning to the UK.’
Best – who points out that he will still be paying corporation tax on all his UK businesses despite his personal change of circumstances – says he was more motivated to leave the country by the state of what he calls ‘Broken Britain’.
Mr Hinduja and his family saw their wealth rise to £37.2 billion for the year from £35 billion – but a number of the UK’s highest profile billionaires including Sir Jim Ratcliffe, Sir James Dyson and Sir Richard Branson all saw their fortunes shrink.
But despite a challenging period for many businesses and investments. The personal fortune of the Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his wife Akshata Murty surged by more than £120 million over the past year.
Mr Sunak and Ms Murty’s wealth was £651million in the latest list, soaring from £529 million in 2023.
The latest annual Sunday Times Rich List revealed their wealth grew substantially despite the wider UK billionaire boom coming ‘to an end’ in the face of tough economic conditions.
Manchester United investor and Ineos founder Sir Jim Ratcliffe was the biggest faller on the list, with his net worth dropping by over £6 billion to £23.52 billion.
Sir James Dyson was the second largest faller, with the entrepreneur witnessing a drop to £20.8 billion from £23 billion.
Meanwhile, Sir Richard Branson saw his wealth fall further, dropping to £2.4 billion from £4.2 billion after a challenging year for Virgin Galactic.
The Sunaks have bucked the trend.
The rise was linked to Ms Murty’s small stake in Infosys, the $70billion (£55.3 billion) Indian IT giant co-founded by her billionaire father. Her shares grew in value by £108.8 million to nearly £590 million for the year.
The couple’s wealth however still remains below its level from 2022, when it sat at around £730 million for the year.
It came as the list of the richest people in Great Britain showed that King Charles’ wealth also grew for the year, rising to £610 million from £600 million.
The list recorded that the number of British billionaires tumbled again, continuing a theme seen in 2023.
The number of billionaires reached a peak of 177 in 2022, before dropping to 171 and falling again to 165 this year, driven by some seeing their private wealth contract amid high borrowing rates and others leaving the country.
Robert Watts, compiler of the rich list, said: ‘This year’s Sunday Times Rich 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.
‘Thousands of British livelihoods rely on the super-rich to some extent.
‘We’ll have to wait and see whether we have now reached peak billionaire, and what that means for our economy.’
Harry Styles and Dua Lipa are among a number of celebrities who feature in the first edition of The Sunday Times 40 Under 40 Rich List.
The news outlet has also published its annual rich list, which is included in a 76-page special edition of its Sunday magazine, revealing the wealth of the 350 richest individuals and families in Britain.
At the age of 33, and in 10th place on the 40 Under 40 list, is Shape Of You singer Ed Sheeran, who has been crowned the richest young musician in the UK with £340 million.
The next wealthiest UK pop star under the age of 40 is former One Direction member Styles, 30, who made his £175 million through music and film appearances.
The Brit award-winner, who appeared in Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk, has also invested in Manchester-based music venue, Co-Op Live, which opened on May 14 following a number of setbacks.
The As It Was singer is placed joined 17th on the list alongside boxing star Anthony Joshua.
In the 19th spot is 16-time Grammy-winner Adele with £170 million.
The Tottenham-born singer began a residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Los Angeles in 2022, which will come to an end in November this year.
Joint 29th is actor Daniel Radcliffe and pop star Lipa, 28, with a respective £90 million.
Lipa, who will perform a headline slot at Glastonbury Festival in June, recently released her third studio album Radical Optimism which soared to the number one spot on the official UK albums chart.
Radcliffe, 34, made his millions when he shot to fame as a child star playing the title character in the Harry Potter film series, adapted from the novels created by JK Rowling.
Topping the list, which showcases British talent from music, sport, entertainment, and business, is Hugh Grosvenor, the seventh Duke of Westminster, with £10.1 billion.
The duke, who is Prince George’s godfather, inherited his title and a vast land and property portfolio at the age of 25.
The majority of the people on the 40 Under 40 list made their millions on their own, but nine were born into money, according to The Sunday Times.
The top nine on the list also feature in the main Sunday Times Rich List, where the minimum figure for entry is £350 million.
Robert Watts, compiler of The Sunday Times Rich List, said: “Despite the tougher business environment, we have many impressive entrepreneurial stories in this year’s Sunday Times Rich List.
“We know our readers are particularly fascinated by those from humbler backgrounds who start their own businesses, work hard and go on to build profitable businesses.
“Our 40 under 40 list includes individuals who have quickly built fortunes from fashion, vodka, sport, and increasingly the tech sector and AI.
“Many of these young guns are already employing hundreds of people and some will go on to be the future of the British economy.”
The 2024 Sunday Times Rich List charts the wealth of the 350 richest people in the UK and the list is based on identifiable wealth, including land, property, other assets such as art and racehorses, or significant shares in publicly quoted companies.
It excludes bank accounts, to which the outlet has said it has no access.
The 40 Under 40 List includes individuals with the biggest fortunes aged 40 or under as of May 1 this year.
