Britain has more billionaires than ever before, according to Sunday Times Rich List

There are more billionaires in the UK than ever, according to the Sunday Times Rich List.

The wealthiest 1,000 people and families have a total wealth of £658bn, which is up 14% on last year's £575bn.

But it is no longer good enough to be a plain millionaire, with £110m now required to make the list - a sharp climb from the £15m required two decades ago.

The richest people are Sri and Gopi Hinduja, with £16.2bn.

The brothers, aged 81 and 77, are among 134 billionaires on the list and have made their fortune from investments in industries such as oil and gas, automotive, IT, energy, media, banking, property and healthcare sectors.

Their latest project is converting the Old War Office in London into a five-star hotel and luxury apartments.

Robert Watts, compiler of the list, said: "While many of us worried about the outcome of the EU referendum, many of Britain's richest people just kept calm and carried on making billions.

"We expected to see a chilling effect in the run-up to the EU referendum, but that simply did not materialise.

"A buoyant stock market usually drives the wealth of Rich Listers higher, and since last June equities have soared.

"We're seeing more and more diversity in the composition of the Rich List.

"More women, more people from ethnic backgrounds, and more from surprising walks of life, with egg farmers and pet food makers lining up with hedge fund managers and private equity barons."

Ukrainian-born American businessman Len Blavatnik is second richest with £15.982bn. His businesses include Warner Music Group.

Last year's winners were knocked down to third place this year: siblings David and Simon Reuben, 78 and 76 respectively, have a fortune of £14bn, a £900m rise in the past 12 months.
The 2017 Sunday Times Rich List:

1: Sri and Gopi Hinduja (Industry, Finance) £16.2bn
2: Len Blavatnik (Investment, Music, Media) £15.9bn
3: David and Simon Reuben (Property, Internet) £14bn
4: Lakshmi Mittal and family (Steel) £13.2bn
5: Alisher Usmanov (Mining, Investment) £11.8bn
6: Ernesto and Kirsty Bertarelli (Pharmaceuticals) £11.5bn
7: Guy, George and Galen Jr Weston and family (Retailing) £10.5bn
8: Kirsten and Jorn Rausing (Inheritance, Investment) £9.6bn
9: The Duke of Westminster and the Grosvenor family (Property) £9.5bn
10: Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken and Michel de Carvalho (Inheritance, Brewing, Banking) £9.3bn
11: Hans Rausing and family (Packaging) £9.25bn
12: John Fredriksen and family (Shipping, Oil services) £8bn
13: Roman Abramovich (Industry, Oil) £8bn
14: Sir James Dyson and family (Household goods, Technology) £7.8bn
15: Sir David and Sir Frederick Barclay (Property, Media, Internet retailing) £7.2bn
16: Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber and family (Hotels, Food, Industry) £6.7bn
17: Earl Cadogan and family (Property) £6.5bn
18: Jim Ratcliffe (Chemicals) £5.75bn
19: Nicky Oppenheimer and family (Mining, Diamonds) £5.5bn
20: Carrie and Francois Perrodo and family (Oil, Gas, Wine) £5.17bn