AJ Bell (AJBA) chief executive Andy Bell has shot up the rankings in the Sunday Times’s annual Rich List, following the flotation of the platform and pension business he founded last year.
Bell’s net worth has been put at £360 million by the list, a dramatic increase from £175 million in 2018. It has seen him jump from 675th place to 367th.
But even that figure looks to have been surpassed as shares in AJ Bell, in which Bell owns a 25% stake, have continued to rocket.
AJ Bell, which he founded in 1995, floated in December with a value of £651 million. With the shares having soared since then, the company now has a market capitalisation of £1.9 billion, with Bell's stake worth £455 million. Bell sold a stake worth £20 million at the time of the flotation.
The Times notes that Bell and his wife Tracey have restored a 16th century manor house in Lancashire called Moor Hall, creating a two-Michelin star restaurant.
Rich List veteran Peter Hargreaves, the 72 year old founder of Hargreaves Lansdown (HRGV), has slipped from 42nd place to 48th, with a net worth of £3 billion. The Brexit backer said last year he would ‘guarantee my entire wealth that no deal will get us free trade’ with the EU.
Hargreaves co-founder Stephen Lansdown also makes the list at 83rd, the same ranking as last year, with £1.7 billion. The Bristol City football club owner sold £129 million of Hargreaves shares last year, following an earlier divestment of £430 million. His stake is now worth £935 million. He also chairs fund manager Ravenscroft, which looks after £3 billion of assets and is also invested in sustainable technology ventures, the Times notes.
A further Hargreaves Lansdown alumnus in the Rich List is Mary Theresa Barry, the broking giant’s first ever employee.
Barry became the firm’s marketing director, building up a stake worth £127 million before leaving the business in 2013. It took Barry’s wealth to £126 million, placing her 859th equal on the list.
Fund manager Terry Smith added £50 million to his wealth this year, taking him to 431th, up 49 places from last year, with £300 million.
Smith, the son of a London bus driver, founded Fundsmith, which manages more than £20 billion in assets.
The firm's accounts show Smith took home £12 million from the company's £21 million profits in the 12 months to the end of March last year. But thehuge payments the company has sent toits Mauritius subsidiary, where Smith is now resident, means that doesn't tell the full story of the star manager's wealth.
Placed 35th is the Schroder family. In February Bruno Schroder died aged 86 after over half a century on the board of the multinational wealth management firm. The family’s wealth has fallen since last year, to £4 billion from £5 billion as their 48% stake in the business has seen a fall in value.
