There's a huge shift in the way the richest people in Britain accumulate wealth

jk rowling

Yui Mok/PA Images

There has been a huge shift in how the richest people in Britain get their money.

When the Sunday Times Rich List, which ranks the 1,000 richest people in Britain, first began in 1989, it was dominated by aristocratic or inherited wealth. Basically fortunes that were just passed down to each generation.

However, a study of the The Sunday Times Rich List data, which will be released in May, by the Centre for Economics and Business Research said "wealth is often gained and lost within three generations." This means that getting into the list and then exiting it is a "revolving door."

"The Sunday Times Rich List data challenges the idea that wealth sits in the same families’ pockets for generation after generation. The very rich are a changing cast of people," said Professor Douglas McWilliams, who conducted the research, to The Sunday Times. McWilliams is set to feature his findings in a forthcoming book called "The Inequality Paradox."

"The reality is that there is a lot of truth in the old Lancashire term 'from clogs to clogs in three generations'."

For example, Bet365 founder Denise Coates racked up an enormous fortune from a gambling empire she created. In the 2016 Sunday Times Rich List, she was the 24th richest person in Britain and 4th richest woman in UK with a net worth of £3.765 billion.

In 2001, Harry Potter author JK Rowling entered the list with a net worth of £65 million but The Sunday Times said this year's list will show that her fortune has grown by 10 times to reach £650 million.

Moneysupermarket’s cofounder Simon Nixon made a fortune from is price comparison website and was 113th richest person in Britain in last year's list. All three will be back in the 2017 list, said the Sunday Times.

Meanwhile, there are a number of rich people in Britain that see their fortunes grow and massively fall. Gordon Crawford, the IT tycoon who created London Bridge Software, entered the Sunday Times Rich List in 2000, reaching the 12th spot with £1.3 billion. However, this year he is going to be ranked 896th with a fortune of £122 milion.

You can read The Sunday Times' full preview of the Rich List here.

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See Also:

• The 31 richest women in Britain

• The 33 richest people on earth

• The 9 richest couples in Britain

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