Danish billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen still Scotland's richest man with £8.2bn fortune

Anders Holch Povlsen has been named the richest man in Scotland for the fifth year in a row.

Mr Povlsen, the CEO of the international retail clothing chain Bestseller and the largest shareholder in ASOS saw his net worth rise to £8.2bn.

The Danish businessman, Scotland’s largest landowner and owner of the Shetland rocket launchpad, saw rising profits lift the value of his retail group Bestseller to £6.5bn.

The business also paid dividends of almost £350m, while his agricultural company recorded gains of £38.3m.

Mr Povlsen is followed in second place by whisky tycoon Glenn Gordon and Family, whose firm is known for brands like Glenfiddich and Balvenie.

Sir Ian Wood and family remain in third place, while Lady Philomena Clark and family – owners of car retailer Arnold Clark occupy fourth spot in the list.

Sir Andy Murray is the wealthiest Scot under 40 with a net worth of £110m. Meanwhile, JK Rowling’s wealth has grown by £30m in a year.

Elsewhere, Peter Hamilton joined the billionaire club after building software firm Halo, whose clients include the Ministry of Justice, Microsoft, Red Bull and the University of Cambridge.

Hamilton, who saved £1,300 from washing dishes in a pub as a teenager to buy his first computer, owns 73% of the Suffolk-based company. A recent private equity deal valued Halo at $2bn (£1.4bn).

Robert Watts, compiler of The Sunday Times Rich List, said: “This year’s Rich List is a tale of two exoduses. One in six of the individuals and families who appeared on the list two years ago don’t feature this time.

“Many foreign billionaires who have been living in the UK drop out because they have moved away. We have also seen a strong rise in the number of British nationals now resident in Dubai, Switzerland and Monaco. As UK nationals these people remain on our Rich List – wherever they now live.

“These two exoduses pose challenges for the UK economy and its public finances. Will more of the wealthy now set up or grow their ventures overseas and in doing so create fewer jobs here?

“How much tax – if any – will Rachel Reeves’s Treasury be able to extract from those affluent Brits who have now left the country?”

This year’s Rich List found the combined wealth of the 350 individuals and families featured stood at £783.5bn – more than the annual GDP of Belgium, Sweden and Israel.

The annual survey also includes Sir Elton John, Lord Lloyd-Webber, Sir Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, JK Rowling, Charlotte Tilbury and Sir Lewis Hamilton.

The minimum wealth required to enter the list fell to £340m.