Money and power have always been thought of as natural bedfellows: you only
stand a chance of holding sway if you have the wealth to back it up.
To test the truth of this we combined The
Times Power 100 with The
Sunday Times Rich List - and we discovered the opposite. In the world of
British business at least, it seems that you don't have to be rich to be
powerful.
The Power 100 is an annually compiled survey of the top names in business in
the UK. We cross-referenced the 100 men and women in this list with The
Sunday Times Rich List, to produce the Richest Power List. There are 26
people in our combined list, which is ranked by wealth.
Of the 26 of the Power 100 that make it onto the Rich List, only 10 claim a
place in the top 100. Lakshmi Mittal, who tops the Rich List, also leads our
combined list. Mr Mittal, president and chief executive of Arcelor Mittal,
the world's largest steelmaker, is worth an estimated £27.7 billion.
But some of the richest are the least influential: for all his £4 billion-plus
fortune and the familiar sight of his shops on Britain's high streets, Sir
Philip Green creeps into the Power 100 at number 91, followed by Sir Richard
Branson at 92. They claim second and third place in this list.
The man who manages the economy, and the man who would like to - Chancellor
Alistair Darling and his shadow George Osborne - are absent from the Richest
Power 100, despite being placed at numbers 11 and 51 respectively in the
Power 100.
Mervyn King, the Governor of the Bank of England, beats the Chancellor with
his ranking at number 7 in the Power 100, but he too is absent from the
combined list.
There is a strong showing from private equity - Sir Ronald Cohen, Guy Hands,
Damon Buffini and Jon Moulton all feature.
Sir Nigel Rudd, the serial dealmaker, is in joint-25th place with Lord
Hollick, the Labour peer whose career has taken him from UBM to KKR, the
Southbank Centre and Diageo.
From the entertainment world comes Simon Cowell, the notoriously nasty judge
and producer who has led talent show series including X-Factor, Pop
Idol, American Idol and Britain's Got Talent to prime-time
success in the UK and the US, and has amassed an estimated £112 million
fortune.
Bob Diamond, chief executive at Barclays Capital, is ranked at number 23. Mr
Diamond is among the best-paid executives in the FTSE 100. Barclays might
have reeled from the effects of the credit crunch, but Mr Diamond was paid
£21 million in 2007 - although this marginally failed to match his £22
million package for 2006.
But there is one assumption is particular that the Richest Power List seems to
support: money and influence lie mainly with men. While only 10 women
featured the Power 100, not even one is to be found in the combined list.
1. Lakshmi Mittal
President and chief executive of Arcelor Mittal
Worth: £27.7 billion
Power 100 ranking: 6
Rich List ranking: 1
2. Sir Philip Green
Owner, BHS and Arcadia
Worth: £4.33 billion
Power 100 ranking: 91
Rich List ranking: 9
3. Sir Richard Branson
Founder and owner, Virgin Group
Worth: £2.7 billion
Power 100 ranking: 92
Rich List ranking: 20
4. Jim Ratcliffe
Founder, chairman and chief executive of Ineos
Worth: £2.3 billion
Power 100 ranking: 54
Rich List ranking: 25
5. Nat Rothschild
President of Atticus, the hedge fund
Worth: £1.4 billion
Power 100 ranking: 76
Rich List ranking: 53
6. Michael Spencer
Chief executive of Icap
Worth: £1.15 billion
Power 100 ranking: 20
Rich List ranking: 62
7. Charles Dunstone
Co-founder and chief executive of Carphone Warehouse
Worth: £904 million
Power 100 ranking: 78
Rich List ranking: 83
8. Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou
Founder, easyGroup
Worth: £812 million
Power 100 ranking: 35
Rich List ranking: 94
10. Sir James Dyson
Designer and inventor
Worth: £760 million
Power 100 ranking: 46
Rich List ranking: 98=
11. Hugh Osmond
Entrepreneur and chief executive, Pearl Group
Worth: £350 million
Power 100 ranking: 31
Rich List ranking: 251=
12. Ian Wace
Co-founder of Marshall Wace Asset Management
Worth: £280 million
Power 100 ranking: 56
Rich List ranking: 292=
13. Sir Ronald Cohen
Co-founder, Apax Partners
Worth: £260 million
Power 100 ranking: 45
Rich List ranking: 312=
14. Guy Hands
Founder and chief executive of Terra Firma
Worth: £250 million
Power 100 ranking: 12
Rich List ranking: 325=
15. Michael Sherwood
Co-chief executive of Goldman Sachs International
Worth: £200 million
Power 100 ranking: 24
Rich List ranking: 397=
16. Peter Sutherland
Chairman of BP
Worth: £169 million
Power 100 ranking: 26
Rich List ranking: 488
17. Damon Buffini
Chairman of Permira
Worth: £150 million
Power 100 ranking: 3
Rich List ranking: 525=
18. Jon Moulton
Managing partner, Alchemy Partners
Worth: £135 million
Power 100 ranking: 71
Rich List ranking: 581=
19. Simon Robertson
Senior nonexecutive director of HSBC
Worth: £130 million
Power 100 ranking: 65
Rich List ranking: 597=
20. Luke Johnson
Entrepreneur and chairman of Channel 4
Worth: £120 million
Power 100 ranking: 96
Rich List ranking: 644=
21. Simon Cowell
Television and music producer
Worth: £112 million
Power 100 ranking: 77
Rich List ranking: 717=
22. Sir Martin Sorrell
Chief executive of WPP
Worth: £106 million
Power 100 ranking: 23
Rich List ranking: 755=
23. Bob Diamond
President of Barclays and chief executive of Barclays Capital
Worth: £85 million
Power 100 ranking: 13
Rich List ranking: 924=
23. Bart Becht
Chief executive of Reckitt Benckiser
Worth: £80 million
Power 100 ranking: 17
Rich List ranking: 969=
24. Arun Sarin
Chief executive of Vodafone
Worth: £60 million
Power 100 ranking: 38
Rich List ranking: 1259=
25= Sir Nigel Rudd
Chairman of BAA
Worth: £40 million
Power 100 ranking: 21
Rich List ranking: 1794=
25= Lord Hollick
Nonexecutive director of Diageo, KKR, the Nielsen Company and Honeywell
International
Worth: £40 million
Power 100 ranking: 52
Rich List ranking: 1794=
I am delighted to see 2 persons of Indian origin in the list compiled above.
Another fact: Money and Power are not always correlated but power comes when you use your money in right way.
M Soni, Jodhour, India