Scotland’s wealthiest people saw their fortunes soar over the course of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the latest Sunday Times Rich List.
Danish retailer Anders Povlsen was named the richest person in Scotland in the latest study, increasing his wealth by £1.27 billion to £6 billion.
He is named as one of 10 billionaires in the Scottish rich list.
Mr Povlsen, who owns more land in the UK than the Queen and the Church of Scotland combined, increased his fortune chiefly off the back of his retail empire, according to the study.
He has a 25% stake in the online fashion giant Asos – which recently acquired the Topshop, Topman and Miss Selfridge brands – with the bulk of his wealth stemming from the Denmark-based fashion retailer Bestseller.
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Lockdown has also proved lucrative for Glenn Gordon and family, owners of the Willian Grant & Sons whisky business.
The family have registered gains of £409 million in the past year to lift them to £3.595 billion.
John Shaw and Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw lifted their wealth to just under £3 billion.
Glaswegian Mr Shaw and his wife own a 60% stake in Biocon, an India-based pharmaceuticals business.
Only five of the top 14 spots on the Scottish list failed to increase their fortune.
The Thomson family are listed in seventh at £1.271 billion, down £136 million and Trond Mohn and Marit Mohn Westlake and family are in eighth at £1.259 billion, down £66 million.
Jim McColl is 10th at £1 billion, no change on last year; Lord Laidlaw is 12th at £787 million, no change; and Sir Brian Souter and Dame Ann Gloag are 14th at £650 million, down £80 million.
The list revealed that there are now a record 171 billionaires in the UK, with Ukranian-born Sir Leonard Blavatnik topping the pile as the richest person in the country.
These are the 10 richest people in Scotland according to the rich list:
- Anders Povlsen – £6 billion
- Glenn Gordon and family – £3.595 billion
- John Shaw and Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw and family – £2.942 billion
- Sir Ian Wood and family – £1.819 billion
- Mohamed Al-Fayed and family – £1.7 billion
- Mahdi al-Tajir – £1.687 billion
- The Thomson family – £1.271 billion
- Trond Mohn and Marit Mohn Westlake and family – £1.259 billion
- Lady Philomena Clark and family – £1.141 billion
- Jim McColl – £1 billion
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