Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Mamut again top book trade figure on ST Rich List



Waterstones owner Alexander Mamut is once again the highest-ranking trade figure on the Sunday Times Rich List, published yesterday (21st April).
Mamut is placed 54th on the list, with a fortune of £1,483m according to the newspaper supplement, which emphasised he still has "substantial Russian assets in property, construction and oil fields".

J K Rowling remains the wealthiest author in the UK, according to the list, which valued her fortune at £560m, earning the Harry Potter author 156th place in the list. The supplement, which aims to be the "definitive guide to wealth in Britain and Ireland", also named her as the 20th richest woman on the list, though her £560m fortune had not changed since 2012's list, despite the release of her novel The Casual Vacancy.

The compilers valued her income from books at £455m, and added £230m to the total "in intangible brand value on the back of future film and book income", deducting money for taxes and charitable donations. The report also said Rowling has two novels for children younger than the Potter audience in the pipeline, as well as another novel for adults.

Viscount Cowdray and the Pearson family are in joint 224th place, down from joint 164th place last year. The supplement has clipped the estimated value of their fortune by £100m to £400m, and put the family stake in the Pearson media group, Penguin's parent-company, as being worth £150m and below the 3% declarable limit.

Nigel Blackwell, co-founder of the Blackwell bookshop chain, and his family are placed in joint 414th place on the list with a fortune of £195m, the same amount as in 2012 and 2011.

Authors Barbara Taylor Bradford and Jamie Oliver tied in 522nd place on the list, each with a fortune of £150m, while Lord Archer is valued at £135m, in joint 590th place. Jackie Collins swoops onto the list of the Richest Entertainers, with a fortune of £60m, with fellow authors Jack Higgins and Ken Follett amassing £55m fortunes. Meanwhile, Sir Terry Pratchett is the eighth richest author with a fortune valued at £42m by the Sunday Times supplement's compilers.

The Earl of Stockton and the Macmillan family were placed 653 equal on the list, with a fortune of £120m, made selling their stake in the Macmillan publishing business.
In the Sunday Times Giving list, Lonely Planet founders Tony and Maureen Wheeler were placed at number 22, having recently given £4m-worth of their £112m wealth away to charities.


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