Theatre News

Cameron Mackintosh, Leonard Blavatnik, Andrew Lloyd Webber and more make Sunday Times Rich List

The list for 2020 has been revealed

A newspaper
A newspaper

The Sunday Times UK Rich List has been unveiled.

The list, published annually, reveals the top 1000 wealthiest people in the UK.

Coming in at fourth place for the second year running is Leonard Blavatnik, who is estimated as having £15.87bn. Despite the coronavirus outbreak, Blavatnik is said to have gained £1.4bn in the last year. He owns the Theatre Royal Haymarket in the West End (home to the commercial hit Only Fools and Horses musical) and has invested in productions like Hamilton.

Producer and venue owner Cameron Mackintosh (whose shows include The Phantom of the Opera, Les Misérables and Hamilton) came in at 119th place with an estimated value of £1.24bn.

His position has dropped five places since 2019, with The Sunday Times stating that "Covid-19's curtain call for theatreland leads us to trim his wealth", with a loss of £40m. His wealth was nonetheless bolstered by higher profits in 2018-19, through the opening of the likes of Hamilton.

Andrew Lloyd Webber's position dropped by one to 174th on the list, with a valuation of £800m. The Sunday Times has noted again that coronavirus has hindered the ongoing success of many of his lucrative productions across the globe, and even pushed back the opening of new West End musical Cinderella. The Sunday Times also named Lloyd-Webber the fifth-richest man in film and television.

All stage productions, including those of Mackintosh and Lloyd Webber, are currently paused or cancelled while lockdowns continue, with no current sign as to when they might re-open. Many venues across the UK have been forced to furlough workers while the pandemic continues.

John Gore, who has helped produce and fund a number of West End musicals including Hamilton and Wicked, saw no change to his personal wealth of £1.5bn, placing him at 95.