King Charles III and former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak have discovered themselves facet by facet, not in politics, however in kilos. Each at the moment are value an estimated £640 million, incomes them the 238th spot on the 2025 Sunday Times Rich List, launched Friday. The record, which tracks Britain’s 350 wealthiest people and households, reveals a dramatic reshuffling on the high, and indicators of economic turbulence rippling by way of the elite.At 76, King Charles climbed 20 spots from final yr, buoyed partly by surging income from Crown Property wind farm offers, which doubled returns and boosted the sovereign grant that funds royal actions. Nonetheless, most royal property, together with Buckingham Palace, stay off the books as they’re owned “in the best of the Crown,” not personally. His personal wealth consists of the Balmoral and Sandringham estates, together with an funding portfolio inherited from Queen Elizabeth II.In the meantime, Sunak’s political exit hasn’t dented his financial institution steadiness an excessive amount of. The previous PM has taken up a part-time position at Stanford College and joined the profitable Washington Audio system Bureau. His spouse, Akshata Murty, continues to attract dividends from Infosys, £7.5 million final yr, although the tech inventory’s current slide shaved off some worth. Regardless of this, the couple’s fortunes rose simply sufficient to push them up from final yr’s 245th place.Indians dominate the highestThe Hinduja household holds the crown on the high for a fourth straight yr, with an estimated £35.3 billion, even after a £2 billion dip. They’re adopted by one other Indian-born duo, David and Simon Reuben, who climbed to No. 2 with £26.87 billion.Lakshmi Mittal, the metal magnate behind ArcelorMittal, stays at No. 8 with £15.44 billion, whereas Anil Agarwal of Vedanta Sources sits at No. 25 with £7.5 billion. Additionally on the record: Prakash Lohia (No. 31, £6.02 bn), Mohsin and Zuber Issa of Asda and EG Group (No. 32, £6 bn), and Navin and Varsha Engineer (No. 48, £3.45 bn). The Arora brothers and Lord Swraj Paul are additionally among the many high 100.Billionaires in retreatHowever not everybody’s raking it in. The 2025 record noticed the sharpest fall in billionaire numbers in its 37-year historical past, right down to 156 from 165 final yr.“This was one of many hardest editions to compile,” stated record compiler Robert Watts, blaming Donald Trump’s tariffs and market volatility. “It’s the third straight yr of collective wealth decline, and the most important drop in UK billionaires we’ve ever recorded.”In an more and more shaky financial system, it appears even the richest aren’t immune. However for now, wind farms, Indian billionaires, and a former PM on the lecture circuit are holding their floor.
