A host of Scots or people based in Scotland have been named in the 2023 Sunday Times rich list, with the likes of Harry Potter author JK Rowling and Sandy and James Easdale all included in the top 345 richest people in the UK.

Like last year, Danish retail tycoon Anders Holch Povlsen has been named the richest person in Scotland. He saw his fortune increase by £2 billion in the last year and is now worth £8.5 billion, compared to £6.5 billion last year.

The Easdale Brothers saw a rise of 3 places on last year’s position, placing at 126 with an estimated worth of £1.425 billion, a £62 million year-on-year increase.

According to a special edition of the Sunday Times Magazine, to be released this weekend, there are now 171 billionaires in the UK, a drop of six from 2022. Their combined wealth is just shy of £684bn, up nearly £31bn from the previous year (a rise of 4.5 percent).

Overall, the richest 350 in the UK this year are worth £796.459 billion. The minimum wealth needed to be counted in the top 350 is £350 million.

Robert Watts, the compiler of the Sunday Times Rich List, said: “This year’s Sunday Times Rich List shows that a golden period for the super-rich is over.

“For the first time in 14 years, we’ve seen the number of UK billionaires fall.

“Two years ago we raised concerns about an unsettling boom in the fortunes of the very wealthy that continued unchecked during the political instability around Brexit and the pandemic.

“This is not a crash – but there are household names who have lost vast sums over the past year.

“The bursting of the tech bubble, the end of rock bottom interests, and the jitters creeping through the banking industry have all taken their toll. 

“The super-rich don’t exist in a vacuum. Many small investors lost money in some of their overblown stock market floats. Many people also work for their businesses. Financial losses for billionaires can have implications for us all.”

The Sunday Times Rich List