Fashion retailer Anders Holch Povlsen tops Scotland’s Rich List
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Anders Holch Povlsen, the Danish fashion magnate, has been named the wealthiest person in Scotland, according to The Sunday Times’ latest Rich List.
This year’s Rich List, the 35th annual edition, displayed a marginal decline in the number of UK billionaires, down to 171 from 177 in 2022. However, their combined wealth grew by £30.7bn, or 4.5%, reaching £683.9bn.
Mr Povlsen, with a net worth of £8.5 billion, an increase of £2bn from the previous year, currently ranks 17th on the overall Rich List.
The billionaire’s love affair with Scotland began as a child when his parents took him on a fishing trip. Today he is the country’s largest private landowner with 220,000 acres. Home is Aldourie Castle, on the shores of Loch Ness.
Mr Povlsen’s wealth largely emanates from Bestseller, a Danish fashion retail giant founded by his father in 1975. The 50-year-old entrepreneur, who assumed leadership of the company in 2000, saw its profits soar to £723 million over the past year. In addition, Mr Povlsen holds a stake in the underperforming online retailer, Asos.
Scotland’s second richest person, according to the Rich List, is Glenn Gordon of the whisky empire, with a net worth of £4.6bn. He manages William Grant & Sons and owns Drambuie, Glenfiddich, and Grant’s.
THE FIVE WEALTHIEST IN SCOTLAND
| Rank | Name | Source of Wealth | 2023 Wealth | Rise/Fall |
| 1 | Anders Holch Povlsen | Fashion: Bestseller and Asos | £8.5bn | Up £2bn |
| 2 | Glenn Gordon and family | Spirits: William Grant & Sons | £4.607bn | Up £1.2bn |
| 3 | Sir Ian Wood and family | Oil services and fishing: Wood Group | £1.82bn | Up £1m |
| 4 | Mohamed Al Fayed and family | Retailing and hotels: Harrods and Paris Ritz | £1.699bn | No change |
| 5 | Mahdi al-Tajir | Metals, oil and water: Highland Spring | £1.637bn | Down £48m |
UK-wide, a number of Rich List regulars are nursing heavy losses from the bursting of a second tech bubble. Sir Richard Branson’s wealth has fallen by £1.79bn since last year, largely due to the falling share prices of his space tourism and satellite ventures.
Overall, the richest 350 in the UK this year are worth £796.5bn. The minimum wealth needed to be counted in the top 350 is £350m.
Robert Watts, compiler of the Sunday Times Rich List, said: “This year’s Sunday Times Rich List shows that a golden period for the super rich is over. For the first time in 14 years we’ve seen the number of UK billionaires fall.
“Two years ago we raised concerns about an unsettling boom in the fortunes of the very wealthy that continued unchecked during the political instability around Brexit and the pandemic.
“This is not a crash — but there are household names who have lost vast sums over the past year. The bursting of the tech bubble, the end of rock bottom interests and the jitters creeping through the banking industry have all taken their toll.
“The super rich don’t exist in a vacuum. Many small investors lost money in some of their overblown stock market floats. Many people also work for their businesses. Financial losses for billionaires can have implications for us all.”
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