UK rich list published; US debt ceiling optimism drives Nikkei to 33-year high – business live | Business

Rishi Sunak and Akshata Murty saw their wealth slide last year, the Sunday Times reports.

The prime minister and his wife made their Rich List debut in 2022 thanks to the stake Murty owns in Infosys, the Indian IT giant co-founded by her father.

But this time round, the prime minister and his wife’s wealth is estimated at £201m less than 12 months ago. That works out as an average daily loss of more than £500,000.

This is due to a slide in Infosys’s share price, which fell by over a fifth during 2022, as the boom in tech stocks unravelled.

But Infosys has continued to swell the Sunak-Murty coffers – Akshata will receive nearly £6.7m in dividend payments from the company this summer,

These are the 20 richest people and families in the UK, according to the Sunday Times Rich List, released this morning.

1. Gopi Hinduja and family – £35bn

2. Sir Jim Ratcliffe – £29.7bn

3. Sir Leonard Blavatnik – £28.6bn

4. David and Simon Reuben and family – £24.4bn

5. Sir James Dyson and family – £23bn

6. Lakshmi Mittal and family – £16bn

7. Guy, George, Alannah and Galen Weston and family – £14.5bn

8. Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken and Michel de Carvalho – £13.1bn

9. Kirsten and Jorn Rausing – £12bn

10. Michael Platt – £11.5bn

11. The Duke of Westminster and the Grosvenor family – £9.9bn

12. Marit, Lisbet, Sigrid and Hans Rausing – £9.3bn

13. Andy Currie – £9.2bn

14. John Reece – £9.1bn

15. Alex Gerko – £9.1bn

16. Denise, John and Peter Coates and family – £8.8bn

17. Anders Holch Povlsen £8.5bn

18. Barnaby and Merlin Swire and family – £8.4bn

19. John Fredriksen and family – £8.3bn

20. Mikhail Fridman – £8.2bn

The billionaire Hinduja family have topped the Sunday Times Rich List for the second year in a row as their fortune jumped by more than £6bn last year.

The annual assessment of the UK’s wealthiest people, just released, found that Gopi Hinduja and his family, which is behind the Indian conglomerate Hinduja Group, are Britain’s richest.

This comes just days after Mr Hinduja’s brother Sri died.

The Hindujas were followed by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the boss of the INEOS chemicals company, who is now bidding to take control of Manchester United.

But for the first time in 14 years, the number of billionaires on the list has fallen, by six to 171.

That’s the first top drop since the 2007-08 financial crisis, after heavy falls in international markets last year.

However, those whose wealth clocked in at at least 8-digits have grown even richer. The amount of wealth shared by UK billionaires climbed to £683.8bn, which is almost £31bn more than last year.

But, with inflation in double digits, that 4.5% rise represents a fall in real terms.

The Sunday Times, which has been weighing the wallets of the wealthy for many years, reports that the boomtime is over:

The Rich List has laid bare a golden era for Britain’s most minted for more than a decade. Each year the billionaire count rose. Each year their fortunes soared ever higher. The question was not whether the boom would end, but when — and what it would mean for the rest of us. That time has come. The party is over and it’s time to sober up.

“Years of cheap, cheap money ramped up the value of our companies and made it easier to expand,” said one anonymous billionaire retailer who has seen his wealth clipped in this year’s Rich List.

“A lot of us did very well out of it. The recession never turned up and I don’t think it will. Time for everyone to get back to work, get their heads down and frankly be a bit more sensible.”

The UK has finally announced its strategy to support the semiconductor industry, but the plan has been quickly criticised for being too small.

The 20-year National Semiconductor Strategy will “double down on design, research and advanced chip leadership”, to secure the UK’s position as a global science and technology superpower, the government says.

The package will aim to boost the UK’s strengths and skills in design, R&D and compound semiconductors, and grow UK chip firms.

As the government points out, the semiconductor marketis set to grow to $1 trillion by 2030, which is why other countries have been offering large subsidies to their industries.

And the UK’s package, worth £1bn over the next decade, isn’t enough, according to some experts.

Cambridge-based startup, Paragraf, which claims to be the only company in the world capable of manufacturing graphene to mass-produce semiconductors, said the taxpayer commitment would not cover a basic chip plant. Its founder and chief executive, Simon Thomas, said the content of the strategy revealed so far was “frankly flaccid”.

Thomas said:

“The strategy continues the trend of this Conservative administration proclaiming superlatives like ‘becoming a technology superpower’ without defining what ‘superpower’ actually means or delivering a plan of how we will even begin to reach this objective.”

Confidence among UK consumers is recovering, as people grow more optimistic over their personal financial situation and the economic outlook.

GfK’s Consumer Confidence Index, released overnight, has risen by three points this month to -27 – the fourth monthly increase in a row.

Although still negative, the outlook has improved since January when the index clocked in at -45.

Confidence in personal finances over the coming 12 months jumped by five points, to -8, which is 17 points higher than this time last year.

Joe Staton, client strategy director at GfK, says:

“The cost-of-living crisis has been part of our daily financial reality for a long time, with double-digit inflation and record-high food prices. But despite those pressures, May sees an encouraging three-point uptick in consumer confidence.

This is the fourth monthly increase in a row from January’s score of -45. While Brits have little control over the general economy, it’s good to see further improvement in how people view their personal finances in the next 12 months with a robust five-point jump to -8. This measure most keenly reflects our hopes and fears for the coming year, and it underpins our ability to spend on goods and services that drive our economy.

Of course, confidence is still far from the ‘sunny uplands’ territory, Staton adds:

However, the overall trajectory this year is positive and might reflect a stronger underlying financial picture across the UK than many would think. But everybody must hold on tight as it could still be a rocky ride out of these tough times.”

Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy.

Japan’s blue-chip stock index has climbed to a 33-year high today, lifted by optimism over the US debt ceiling deadlock.

The Nikkei climbed by another 0.77% today to close at 30,808.35 today. That’s its highest level since August 1990, when Japan’s stock market bubble was bursting.

Today’s rally came amid rising hopes that US politicians will hammer out a deal on the debt ceiling to avoid a catastrophic default.

Last night, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy struck an optimistic tone about reaching a deal with President Biden to raise the debt ceiling in time to avoid a default.

McCarthy told reporters that “We’re not there,” adding:

“But I see the path that we can come to an agreement, and I think we have a structure now.”

McCarthy, who met with the president and other congressional leaders earlier this week, said talks are in “a much better place” than they were a week ago.

“I know and I can see where a deal can come together, and I think that’s important.”

McCarthy’s Republicans had been demanding hefty spending cuts in return for approving a lifting of the debt ceiling.

US Treasury secretary Janet Yellen has repeatedly warned that the consequences of not increasing the debt limit could be disastrous. Yesterday, Yellen told bank CEOs that failing to raise or suspend the debt limit would be “catastrophic” for the financial system, families and businesses.

So far this year, the Nikkei has gained around 19%, outpacing other major markets – which are also looking calmer today.

Reuters points out that a series of strong corporate results, an economy that is showing signs of a revival and a renewed interest from foreign investors in the wake of increased investment by Warrant Buffett has also boosted the Nikkei.

But despite the recent rally, the Nikkei is still below its alltime peak over 36,000 set in 1989.

The agenda

• 7am BST: German PPI index of producer prices in April

• 11am BST: Spanish consumer confidence for April

• 4pm BST: US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell speaks on a ‘Perspectives on Monetary Policy’ panel