English football legend David Beckham and his wife Victoria, the ex-Spice Girl who became a fashion designer and businesswoman, saw their fortunes double last year and joined the club of British billionaires, according to an annual ranking published Friday by the “Sunday Times”.
The couple’s fortune is estimated at 1.185 billion pounds (1.08 billion francs), “thanks to judicious investments in football, food and drinks, real estate and fashion”, details the famous British newspaper, emphasizing that the footballer becomes the first billionaire British sportsman.
This is a jump compared to assets estimated at 500 million pounds a year earlier, which can be explained in particular by the investments in recent years of the former captain of the England team in Inter Miami, the American club where star Lionel Messi extended his contract last year until 2028.
For its part, the Victoria Beckham fashion brand, launched in 2008 and long in deficit, saw its turnover exceed 100 million pounds last year, according to the daily.
The annual ranking of the “Times”, which lists the 350 richest individuals and families in the United Kingdom, all sectors combined, includes this year Noel and Liam Gallagher, whose joint fortune, estimated at 375 million pounds, was boosted by the Oasis reformation tour.
Thai-British cryptocurrency tycoon Christopher Harborne, behind an undeclared donation of 5 million pounds to the leader of the anti-immigration Reform UK party Nigel Farage, who has made headlines in the British press in recent weeks, is also on the list.
Nik Storonsky, boss and co-founder of the British online bank Revolut – whose valuation soared last year to $75 billion – saw his personal fortune more than double last year, to 16.411 billion pounds, signing the biggest increase in the ranking.
The family of Gopi Hinduja, who died last November and owned a conglomerate in finance, energy and tech, remains at the top of the list compiled by the “Sunday Times”, with a fortune of 38 billion pounds.
