Yahoo Finance The Beckhams’ Fortune Rises, Pinault Lost 1.9 Billion Pounds, Sunday Times Rich List 2024 Shows
LONDON — Few can withstand a subpar global retail climate, as the Sunday Times on Friday released its annual Rich List, showing that several major U.K.-based players in the retail and fashion sector saw their net worth shrink by billions of pounds in the past 12 months.
Power couple François-Henri Pinault and Salma Hayek’s estimated net worth shrank by 1.9 billion pounds to 6.14 billion pounds, compared to the last time the British newspaper carried out a calculation of their wealth.
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The drop can be attributed to the lackluster performance of Kering, which expects its operating profit in the first half to fall by 40 to 45 percent amid a drop in sales at its star brand Gucci, which is undergoing a revamp under chief executive officer Jean-François Palus and creative director Sabato De Sarno.
Pinault’s investment in CAA via his family-holding company Artémis also raised eyebrows among analysts, said The Sunday Times, as they questioned whether moving into talent management is a distraction from Kering’s core business of fashion.
Another fashion power couple, David and Victoria Beckham, meanwhile, saw their estimated net worth rise by 30 million pounds.
According to Forbes, the decision by Lionel Messi to sign last year with the Inter Miami football team, part-owned by the British football star, sent the value of the club soaring to $1 billion.
Authentic Brands, a global brand owner, development and entertainment company, also paid 200 million pounds for a 55 percent stake in DB Ventures, David Beckham’s brand management firm, in 2022. The deal is thought to have netted him 160 million pounds in cash, plus stock in Authentic currently worth about 80 million pounds.
Victoria Beckham’s own fashion business has improved in profitability as well. The latest figures from Victoria Beckham Holdings showed revenues increased 44 percent to 58.8 million pounds in 2022. Operating losses in the period were reduced from 3.9 million pounds to 0.9 million pounds, year-over-year.
James Dyson and his family, the maker of luxury hairdryers, fans and vacuums, registered a 2.2 billion pound decline in their net worth, according to the Sunday Times estimations. That said, he is still the fifth richest man in the U.K., with an estimated fortune of 20.8 billion pounds.
The Westons, who sold Selfridges Group to Central and Signa in 2021, saw a slip of 7 million pounds in their estimated net worth. The family ranks ninth in the 2024 Rich List with an estimated net worth of 14.493 billion pounds.
The Sunday Times said the transatlantic dynasty still owns the fast fashion chain Primark, the Heal’s chain of furniture stores, and Wittington Investments, which is nearly 80 percent owned by the Garfield Weston Foundation — a trust managing 13.16 billion pounds worth of assets — as well as their 63 percent stake, worth 8.9 billion pounds, in their original Canadian business George Weston, which encompasses retail and real estate interests, including Loblaw supermarkets and Shoppers Drug Mart pharmacies.
Controversial retail magnate Mike Ashley’s net worth dropped by 41 million pounds to 3.799 billion pounds, ranking 49th on the Rich List.
His company Frasers Group last year acquired upmarket retailer Matches at a knockdown price just before Christmas in a deal valued at 52 million pounds and has since repurchased the retailer’s intellectual property. He’s licensed it back to the administrators, Teneo, as they attempt to clear the final stock from Matches’ three London stores and warehouse.
The estimated net worth of River Island owner Bernard Lewis and family logged a 20 million pound increase to 2.711 billion pounds on the Rich List, while Bestseller and Asos owner Anders Holch Povlsen saw his estimated net worth decrease by 1.77 billion pounds to 6.73 billion.
Launched in 1989, the Sunday Times Rich List tracks the minimum wealth of the 350 richest people or families who live and work in Britain.
It considers identifiable wealth, whether land, property, racehorses, art, or significant shares in publicly quoted companies. Private bank accounts and small shareholdings in a private equity portfolio are excluded from the calculation.
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