Go from small business owner to Brit rich list

Keeping on top of finances, juggling staff, dealing with clients or customers and drumming up business might seem a long way off making you rich and successful in the early days. However, the release of the 2016 Sunday Times rich list shines a light on self-made business owners in Britain who’ve done just that.

Here are some examples of how starting small and thinking big can land you on the rich list….

Sir James Dyson

Net worth: £5 billion

Who knew cleaning could prove so profitable? Hugely successful inventor Sir James Dyson, best known for inventing his bagless vacuum cleaner, has seen his wealth rise by 43 per cent, making him the first self-made Briton to break the £5 billion barrier and number 17 on the list. He started out by inventing the Ballbarrow, a wheelbarrow manoeuvred by a ball instead of a wheel, and is now making a move into the car market. He’s so rich now that he owns more land in England than the Queen.

Sir Richard Branson

Net worth: £4.52 billion

At number 19 on the list Sir Richard Branson is showing no signs of slowing down aged 65. He built his Virgin empire from the age of 16. It now comprises of 400 companies ranging from mobiles and banking to aviation. Britain’s most famous entrepreneur has now set his sights firmly on the business of space travel – a move that could catapult him up or down future rich lists.

Denise Coates

Net worth: £3.765 billion

Britain’s richest self-made woman is Denise Coates who occupies spot number 24 on the list. She turned a small chain of betting shops into the world’s biggest online gambling firm – Bet365. According to The Sunday Times the family made their own gamble and mortgaged what Denise described as their “small chain of pretty rubbish betting shops” to buy the Bet365 domain name for $25,000 on eBay. The rest is history.

Here’s the top 10 richest people in Britain...

10. Alisher Usmanov

Net worth: £7.58 billion

Background: Russian oligarch who made his money through steel and iron-ore mines and companies

9. Hans Rausing and family

Net worth: £8.6 billion

Background: Fortune derived from his revolutionary packaging company Tetra Pak, which was later renamed to Tetra Laval

8. Kirsten and Jorn Rausing

Net worth: £8.7 billion

Background: Leading shareholders of Swiss packaging group Tetra Laval

7. Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken and Michel de Carvalho

Net worth: £9.15 billion

Background: Inherited Dutch brewer Heineken from her father

6. The Duke of Westminster

Net worth: £9.35 billion

Background: Inherited land and property development

5. Ernesto and Kirsty Bertarelli

Net worth: £9.78 billion

Background: Ernesto is Switzerland's richest man after he sold his family's pharmaceutical company Serono

4. Galen and George Weston

Net worth: £11 billion

Background: The group owns a number of huge food stores including Loblaw supermarket chain, Weston Foods, and the British branch of the Weston empire, Associated British Foods

3. Len Blavatnik

Net Worth: £11.59 billion

Background: Built his wealth through the control of oil producer TNK, partner of BP

2. Sri and Gopi Hinduja

Net worth: £13 billion

Background: The brother’s wealth is accumulated through property development and car manufacturing

1. David and Simon Reuben

Net worth: £13.1 billion

Background: The Mumbai-born brothers initially invested in the Russian metals market before turning their attention to the UK property market