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Five Welsh billionaires make Sunday Times rich list

Anna Lewis
BBC News
Getty Images Michael Moritz is on stage, speaking with his hands in front of him with an orange background behind him. He has a microphone headset by his mouth and is wearing a navy corduroy jacket with a blue jumper and white shirt underneath. Getty Images
Sir Michael Moritz and wife Harriet Heyman have seen their fortunes fall by £168m but still hold the top spot on the list

The Sunday Times rich list has revealed Wales' wealthiest people.

This year's edition of the annual shortlist sees Cardiff-born billionaire Sir Michael Moritz and wife Harriet Heyman return to the top spot with a wealth of £4.435bn - a fall of £168m compared with 2024.

Flintshire technology entrepreneur Simon Nixon, co-founder of Moneysupermarket.com, takes the second spot as he is worth £1.95bn, while Specsavers founder Douglas Perkins and family, from Llanelli in Carmarthenshire, come in at third.

This year's rich list reveals the largest fall in the number of billionaires in the guide's 37-year history, from 177 in 2022 to 156 this year.

Claiming first place on the list along with writer and sculptor Ms Heyman, Sir Michael moved to the United States after graduating from Oxford in 1974.

He made his fortune after investing in tech start-ups such as Google and PayPal during his time at venture capital firm Sequoia Capital, before leaving the firm in 2023 after 38 years.

He previously told BBC Wales: "All you need do is listen to very smart people and sift out the ideas that are unworthy or implausible... I wouldn't pretend for a moment that I hadn't made lots of mistakes."

Getty Images Terry Matthews sitting at a desk in a press conference. He is wearing a black suit jacket with a white shirt and brown tie with leaves and plants on it. He has a grey goatee and short brown hair. Behind him is a white background with logos for BMW, Rolex, the Ryder Cup and Celtic Manor. Getty Images
Sir Terry Matthews has seen his wealth drop by £2m but retains fourth place

Newport-born telecoms tycoon and Celtic Manor Resort owner Sir Terry Matthews returns to his position as fourth on the Welsh rich list, with a wealth of £1.338bn.

The fifth spot goes to Cardiff-born property investor and West Ham United owner David Sullivan and family.

Meanwhile, Alex Loven has been named the wealthiest person in Wales under the age of 40.

Mr Loven, 37, began selling cricket bats to his schoolmates when he was 13 before founding Wrexham-based Net World Sports. He is now worth £262m, up from £200m last year, making him the 18th richest person under the age of 40 in the UK.

His company made headlines last year when it installed a "woke-free zone" flag at their headquarters without planning permission.

At the time Mr Loven defended the move, saying a "cloak of wokeness" had taken over society, education and media.

The Sunday Times Rich List 2025 for Wales

1. Sir Michael Moritz and Harriet Heyman - £4.435bn (down £186m)

2. Simon Nixon - £1.95bn (up £70m)

3. Douglas Perkins and family - £1.539bn (down £48m)

4. Sir Terry Matthews - £1.338bn (down £2m)

5. David Sullivan and family - £1.118bn (down £50m)

The 2025 Sunday Times Rich List identifies the 350 richest people in the UK based on identifiable wealth including land, property and assets, such as art and racehorses and significant shares in publicly quoted companies - but excludes bank accounts.

This year's list of 350 individuals and families, including Sir Elton John, Sir Mick Jagger and Sir Lewis Hamilton, together holding a combined wealth of £772.8bn - a sum larger than the annual GDP of Switzerland.

This figure is down 3% compared with last year, while this year's decline in the number of billionaires is the sharpest yet.

Robert Watts, compiler of the guide, said The Sunday Times Rich List was "changing".

"Our billionaire count is down and the combined wealth of those who feature in our research is falling. We are also finding fewer of the world's super rich are coming to live in the UK," he said.