Barbour owners named amongst wealthiest in North East in Sunday Times Rich List 2024

The owners of Barbour have been named amongst the richest people in the North East in the 2024 Sunday Times Rich List.

Dame Margaret and Helen Barbour- who run the South Shields-based company- are ranked fourth in this year’s list with £537m, behind only the Reuben brothers and Steve Gibson.

The owners of Fenwick and the Duke of Northumberland come in fourth and fifth.

The Barbours also feature on The Sunday Times Giving List 2024 after donating £8.5m to charitable causes- nearly 1.6% of their combined wealth.

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. 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.” 

You can read the full list here.