Using inflation-adjusted wealth data from archive copies of the Sunday Times Rich List, Billionaire Britain is a project presenting a longitudinal analysis of the explosion of billionaire wealth in the UK since 1990.

As part of this, the briefings examine the economic drivers of our billionaire society and outline our recommendations to dismantle the structures that enable this obscene accrual of wealth. 

Billionaire Britain 2022

This briefing demonstrates how, over the last four decades, changes to the UK economy have consistently funnelled wealth upwards to the very wealthy, to the detriment of the rest of us – starkly demonstrated this Christmas as we face record inflation, deep real-terms pay cuts and an impending recession with scant support from government. High and entrenched levels of inequality lead to higher levels of social issues including violent crime, mental illness and lower levels of trust and happiness for all, meaning that everyone suffers from living in such a divided society.

The wealth of the UK’s billionaires has skyrocketed by over 1000% between 1990 and 2022, ballooning by around £600bn. 

The number of billionaires exploded from 15 in 1990 to 177 in 2022. Between 2020 and 2022 alone, billionaire wealth increased by almost £150bn.

Much of this increase came from central bank and government efforts to soften the impact of the international Covid-19 crisis. However, the infrastructure that allowed billionaires to profit in this way was decades in the making. 

Billionaire Britain 2019

Analysis by The Equality Trust, using the wealth estimates of Forbes and Credit Suisse, revealed a shocking level of wealth inequality in the UK, which has spiralled since 2010.

• In the UK, the five richest families own more wealth than 13 million people.
• Over the last ten years the number of billionaires in the UK has almost doubled and the wealth of the UK’s billionaires has more than doubled.
• The richest 1% of people in the UK owns the same wealth as 80% of the population, or 53 million people.
• 14 million people, a fifth of the population, live in poverty. Four million of these are more than 50% below the poverty line, and 1.5 million are destitute, unable to afford basic essentials.

Levels of wealth (which often produces income) and income inequality in the UK are some of the highest amongst rich countries. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has shown that income inequality undermines economic growth. Research has shown that in countries with high levels of income inequality, there are also higher levels of mental and physical ill health, violent crime, imprisonment, drug and alcohol addiction and lower levels of educational attainment, social mobility, and trust.