Lord Bamford and family are the richest people in the Midlands, according to this year's edition of The Sunday Times Rich List, published today (May 17) online and in the print edition of the newspaper on Sunday, May 19.  

The 76-page special edition of The Sunday Times Magazine reveals the largest fall in the billionaire count in the guide's 36-year history, from a peak of 177 in 2022 to 165 this year.

This year's list of 350 individuals and families together hold combined wealth of £795.361 billion — a sum larger than the annual GDP of Poland.

Sir Elton John, Lord Lloyd-Webber and David and Victoria Beckham all appear in the annual survey. The minimum entry for the list of 350 this year is £350 million. 

Owner of construction company JCB, Lord Bamford and family, remain the richest in the Midlands after a huge climb last year. Currently his wealth is estimated at £7.65 billion, up by £1.75 billion from last year. 

The second richest family in the Midlands, the Coates family, donated over £120 million to charity, even after a difficult year, in which their wealth dipped by £1.328 billion. This fall in their fortune, to £7.467 billion, has caused them to slip four places to 20th on the list. 

Robert Watts, compiler of the Sunday Times Rich List, said: "This year's Sunday Times Rich List suggests Britain's billionaire boom has come to an end. Many of our home-grown entrepreneurs have seen their fortunes fall and some of the global super rich who came here are moving away. 

"Thousands of British livelihoods rely on the super-rich to some extent. We'll have to wait and see whether we have now reached peak billionaire, and what that means for our economy. 

"These may be harder times to create wealth, but The Sunday Times Rich List continues to unearth entrepreneurs building fortunes in diverse and often surprising ways. This year's new entries include people who have made money from artificial intelligence and virtual worlds as well as plumbing supplies and teaching aides.  

"We know many of our readers find such people — especially those from humbler backgrounds — very inspiring." 

See the full list here.