Seven billionaires on Rich List in Scotland

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The Grant-Gordon whisky family comes top of the Scottish element of the list

Scotland has seven billionaires living in the country or with substantial business interests, according to the 2014 Sunday Times Rich List.

The number of billionaires recorded in the list has risen north of the border, from six last year.

The Grant-Gordon whisky family tops the Scottish element of the list with a fortune of £1.9bn.

There are now 104 billionaires based in the UK with a combined wealth of more than £301bn, the list says, external.

The Grant-Gordon Banffshire distilling family have ousted Mahdi-Al Tajir from the top spot in Scotland.

Al-Tajir, whose interests include a development of luxury homes at Gleneagles, is worth £1.67bn, according to the list.

Sir Brian Souter and Ann Gloag, the siblings who founded the Stagecoach transport empire, have become members of the billionaire club for the first time.

They share a fortune of £1bn - an increase of £270m on last year.

Other Scots on the super-rich list are Sir Ian Wood and family whose £1.32bn fortune comes from oil services and fishing, and the Thomson family, owners of publisher DC Thomson, who are worth £1.2bn.

Former Harrods owner Mohamed Al-Fayed, who owns an estate in the Highlands, is estimated to be worth £1.3bn, while Jim McColl, of engineering business Clyde Blowers has an estimated fortune of £1bn.

The study found that Britain has more billionaires per head of population than any other country, while London's total of 72 sterling billionaires is more than any other city in the world.

Indian-born brothers Sri and Gopi Hinduja top the list of the UK's wealthiest billionaires with a fortune of £11.9bn.

Overall Top 25

  1. Sri and Gopi Hinduja, £11.9bn, up £1.3bn

  2. Alisher Usmanov, £10.65bn, down £2.65bn

  3. Lakshmi Mittal and family, £10.25bn, up £250m

  4. Len Blavatnik, £10bn, down £1bn

  5. Ernesto and Kirsty Bertarelli, £9.75bn, up £2.35bn

  6. John Fredriksen and family, £9.25bn, up £450m

  7. David and Simon Reuben, £9bn, up £719m

  8. Kirsten and Jorn Rausing, £8.8bn, up £3.69bn

  9. Roman Abramovich, £8.52bn, down £780m

  10. The Duke of Westminster, £8.5bn, up £700m

  11. Galen, Hilary and George Weston and family, £7.3bn, up £650m

  12. Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken and Michel de Carvalho, £6.36bn, down £635m

  13. Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber and family, £6.16bn, up £1.65bn

  14. Carrie and Francois Perrodo and family, £6.14bn, new

  15. German Khan, £6.08bn, new

  16. Sir David and Sir Frederick Barclay, £6bn, up £3.65bn

  17. Hans Rausing and family £5.9bn, up £1.18bn

  18. Nicky Oppenheimer and family, £4.57bn, up £785m

  19. Earl Cadogan and family, £4.2bn, up £525m

  20. Joseph Lau and family, £4.03bn, down £570m

  21. Sir Philip and Lady Green £3.88bn, no change

  22. Denis O'Brien, £3.85bn, up £486m

  23. Mike Ashley, £3.75bn, up £1.45bn

  24. Sir Richard Branson and family, £3.6bn, up £86m

  25. Idan Ofer, £3.43bn, new