A cluster of the world�s richest tycoons have seen their personal fortunes shattered by the financial meltdown � with one magnate reported to have lost £7m an hour at the height of the crisis.

A cluster of the world's richest tycoons have seen their personal fortunes shattered by the financial meltdown - with one magnate reported to have lost £7m an hour at the height of the crisis.

Steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal has been described as the "biggest single loser" of the downturn after he lost £20bn in the four-month share-price crash which has left world economies spinning.

Mr Mittal's biggest losses were in the Arcelor Mittal steel empire, but the tycoon is also a major holder in Goldman Sachs, whose value has halved on Wall Street in the past 12 months.

Mr Mittal, Britain's richest man, also holds a 20% stake in Queens Park Rangers Football Club.

He has seen further losses on his investment in RAB Capital, the hedge fund group which invested heavily in Northern Rock before it collapsed and was nationalised.

This week, Ukrainian oligarch and iron ore miner Kostyantin Zhevago, 34, who is now based in London, was forced to sell a 20% stake in Ferrexpo in light of the plummeting value of metal.

Mr Zhevago is a member of the Ukranian parliament and an aide to Prime Minister Julia Tymoshenko.

Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska, who made his fortune in mining, was also forced to sell a 20% stake in his Canadian car parts maker Magna.

He pledged his stake to bankers as the share value of his firm slipped away. Share values in Norilsk Nickel, of which he owns one-quarter, are also floundering.

Other casualties include Mike Ashley, the Sports Direct tycoon who is currently trying to sell Newcastle United. Ashley owns Lillywhite's in Piccadilly and brands including Dunlop, Slazenger and Kangol.

He saw 22% wiped off the Sports Direct share value in one day. The firm only floated on the stock market in February 2007 and has seen its value dive from £1.17bn to £168m.

Joe Lewis, the man behind Tottenham Hotspur owners Enic, is thought to have lost as much as £600m in recent months in light of the collapse of Bear Stearns, of which he was the second biggest shareholder. Enic owns more than 80% of Spurs in various shareholdings.

The bubble of city bonuses enjoyed by stock market traders is also set to burst. Think tank CEBR predicts that they will fall to their lowest level in a decade to £3.55bn, down from £8.5bn last year.