NORTHAMPTON: Tony Travis, of builders' merchant Travis Perkins, dropped from the Sunday Times rich list. Mr Travis, whose wealth was estimated at £98m last year, retired in 2001 as chair of Travis Perkins after 36 years at the company. His departure marked the end of family involvement on the group's board.

Heading the top 10 – as he has for the last six years – is the steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, whose fortune doubled from £10.8bn to £22.4bn last year, following the resurgence in steel prices.

Roman Abramovich remained second, seeing his fortune rise by a measly 6%, which in his case meant an extra £400m, to £7.4bn. The highest Briton on the list was once again the Duke of Westminster, whose property empire rose by £250m to £6.75bn.