The Sunday Times Rich List reveals the eight richest people in Wales
Many on the list have lost some of their wealth over the past year
Sir Michael Moritz , Sir Terry Matthews, Simon Nixon
The richest people in Wales have been revealed as eight are named as some of the wealthiest people in the UK. Included on this year's edition of The Sunday Times Rich List is the couple behind Specsavers and the owner of Admiral.
The list was published today - May 16 - and is updated yearly. It ranks the 350 richest people in the UK and is printed in a special edition of The Sunday Times Magazine. This year's list of individuals and families have a combined wealth of £772.8bn.
The survey is based on wealth including land, property, other assets such as art and racehorses, or significant shares in publicly-quoted companies and excludes bank accounts, which the Sunday Times does not have access to.
To get a spot on the list you must have a minimum wealth of £350 million with famous names such as Sir Elton John, Lord Lloyd-Webber, Sir Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Euan Blair, Sir Lewis Hamilton. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here
Since the list's peak of 177 billionaires recorded in the UK in 2022, the number has since dwindled each year to now 156 named in 2025, the sharpest decline yet.
Not only has the number of billionaires dropped but the combined wealth of the people named on the list has reduced by three percent to £772.8 billion. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here
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The top five named this year all hold the same spot from last year with a staggering combined wealth of over £10bn.
Only one person made the list for the richest person in Wales under 40, founder and CEO of Net World Sports, Alex Lovén.
These are Wales' five wealthiest individuals or families according to The Sunday Times Rich List 2025.
1. Sir Michael Moritz and Harriet Heyman
(Image: PA )
Source of wealth: Venture capitalist and philanthropist
2025 wealth: £4.435bn
Yearly difference: Down £168m
National rank: 40
Cardiff-born Sir Michael Moritz, 70, is a former journalist who joined US investment house Sequoia Capital in 1986 and set up his own charitable foundation, Crankstart. He became a billionaire by making early investments into the likes of Google, PayPal, WhatsApp, YouTube, and a host of other tech giants before any other big names.
After stepping down from being in charge of Sequoia Capital in 2012 for health reasons, Moritz and his American author wife Harriet Heyman - whom he shares his billions with - set up Crankstart to support students from low-income families.
2. Simon Nixon
(Image: Western Mail )
Source of wealth: Tech entrepreneur (MoneySuperMarket)
2025 wealth: £1.95bn
Yearly difference: Up £70m
National rank: 86
In second place this year is 57-year-old Simon Nixon, who was born in Lincolnshire but grew up in Flintshire. Many will have heard of his fortune making website, MoneySuperMarket, which he co-founded in 1993.
He eventually went on to sell his shares by 2016 and now has investments in Monzo. He also makes money from his holiday home website Simon Escapes where he rents out his personal collection of luxury homes around the world from Cornwall to Malibu.
3. Douglas Perkins and family
(Image: Chris Tostevin-Hall )
Source of wealth: Opticians (Specsavers)
2025 wealth: £1.539bn
Yearly difference: Down £48m
National rank: 107
Douglas Perkins, 82, from Llanelli, and his wife Dame Mary Perkins,81, started their billion-pound fortune from a ping-pong table in their spare bedroom where they created Specsavers.
The company is now a global chain of opticians and made Perkins and his family billionaires. Read more about Douglas' life growing up in Carmarthenshire here.
4. Sir Terry Matthews
(Image: John Myers )
Source of wealth: Telecoms tycoon
2025 wealth: £1.338bn
Yearly difference: Down £2m
National rank: 119
Sir Terry Matthews was raised in Newbridge, earning a degree in electronics from Swansea University.
He began his journey as an entrepreneur in Canada where he started his telecoms equipment venture Mitel in 1973. He now also owns the Celtic Manor Resort in south Wales.
Matthews is recorded as Wales' first billionaire and was the richest man in Wales until 2012 but remains on The Sunday Times Rich List in 119th place in the UK and 4th in Wales.
5. David Sullivan and family
(Image: PA )
Source of wealth: Landlord
2025 wealth: £1.118bn
Yearly difference: Down £50m
National rank: 143
Born in Cardiff, David Sullivan, 76, earned his millions by selling pornographic content, by the age of 25. By the late 1970s he ran half of the UK's adult magazine market and 150 sex shops.
In 1982 he was convicted of living off immoral earnings and served 71 days in prison but he told the Standard in 2012 that he did not "feel embarrassed" by how he made his money.
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Sullivan is currently the co-owner of West Ham United F.C as well as operating an investment company, Conegate, which owns property in London.
The three others who make up the top eight in Wales are house builder Steven in sixth place (158th in the UK) who is worth £988m. Henry Engelhardt and Diane Briere de l'Isle in seventh (161st in the UK) and worth £980m. Construction tycoons Dai and Richard Walters were ranked eighth in Wales (305th in the UK) and worth £418m.
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