Focus on rise of AI and athleisure as fourth edition of The Sunday Times 40 Under 40 Rich List goes live
The fourth edition of The Sunday Times 40 Under 40 Rich List is published today online and will appear in the print edition of the newspaper on Sunday.
This year’s list showcases British talent across fashion, business and technology as well as music, sport and entertainment. It forms part of a 76-page special edition of The Sunday Times Magazine, which reveals the wealth of the 350 richest individuals and families in Britain.
It is topped again by the Duke of Westminster, who inherited his title and a vast land and property portfolio aged 25. He oversees holdings spanning 12 countries and is valued at nearly £10 billion.
Further analysis of the 40 Under 40 list shows:
A combined wealth of £26.2 billion - 26% less than in 2025, largely because one of last year’s billionaires is now too old.
Of the 47 individuals named, two are Polish, two are Danish, one German, one a New Zealander and one has joint British and Albanian citizenship.
There are four sets of brothers: Oliver and Alexander Kent-Braham, Tom and Phil Beahon, Ryan and Reece Broadhurst, and Mike and George Heaton.
Artificial intelligence and fashion dominate this year’s ranking of Britain’s most successful young wealth creators. 13 of those named in the fourth edition owe their places to one of the burgeoning crop of London-based AI startups. For example, ElevenLabs, the synthetic voice developer backed by the Hollywood star Matthew McConaughey, is now worth £8.1 billion - three times as much as 12 months ago - pushing the Polish techies Piotr Dabkowski and Mati Staniszewski, both 31, into joint third.
Meanwhile, 11 fashion entrepreneurs make this year’s 40 Under 40. The richest is Ben Francis, 33, pictured below, who dropped out of Aston University to focus on his sports brand Gymshark, learning to make hoodies after taking sewing lessons from his mother and grandmother. Francis also sits in 191st place on the overall Rich List.
Self-made fortunes far outstrip inherited wealth: 34 of our 40 entries made their fortunes themselves. Importantly, the business founders featured here have already generated more than 15,500 jobs, our analysis of the latest accounts of their companies show.
Other stars include Harry Styles, Dua Lipa, Rory McIlroy, Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury, the heavyweight boxer and reality star who debuts at No 29 with an estimated wealth of £162 million.
Robert Watts, compiler of The Sunday Times Rich List, says: “The diversity of our 40 under 40 list is striking. There are some with PhDs, others who left school with grades they'd rather forget. There are overnight success stories who quickly built businesses worth £1 billion, others who quietly toiled away paying themselves minimum wage salaries for years before striking gold.”
"These digital native entrepreneurs grew up in an age when launching a business became easier. Many of their companies were started with limited cash - often little more than a phone, a laptop and a good idea. We know many of our readers find these largely self-made stories inspiring and believe our country needs more of these wealth creators to help power our economy - not less."
2026 RTIH Innovation Awards
AI will be a key focus area at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards.
The awards are now open for entries and celebrate global retail technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.
Our winners will be revealed at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards Ceremony, taking place at The HAC in Central London on Wednesday, 4th November.
Check out our 2025 winners here.
Our 2025 hall of fame entrants were revealed during a sold out event which took place at The HAC on 16th October and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Tiff Stevenson.
In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “This is the awards’ fifth year as a physical event. We started off with just 30 people at the South Place Hotel not far from here, then moved to London Bridge Hotel, then The Barbican, and last year RIBA’s HQ in the West End.”
“But I’m conscious of the fact that, to quote the legend that is Taylor Swift, You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby. So, this year we’ve moved to our biggest venue yet, and also pulled in our largest number of entries to date and broken attendance records.”
He added: “This year’s submissions have without doubt been our best yet. To quote one of the judges: The examples of innovative developments across both traditional and digital retail spaces were truly remarkable.”
Congratulations to our winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Tiff Stevenson, and all those who attended our 2025 gathering.
