2014 Sunday Times Rich List sees entry of more pharma executives

Nineteen executives who either work in the pharmaceuticals or biotech industries, or who have made money from selling their stakes in pharmaceutical businesses, appeared in The Sunday Times Rich List, published last weekend (18 May).

This guide to the nation’s wealth lists the 1,000 richest people in the UK, as well as separating out Ireland’s 250 wealthiest and Scotland's richest 100 executives.

Seven executives from the pharmaceuticals industry were listed in Ireland’s rankings, and one pharmaceutical wholesaler (Donald Munro) in Scotland.

Out ahead of the rest in 5th position are Ernesto and Kirsty Bertarelli, who are worth £9.75bn, up from 9th position and £7.4bn in 2013.

According to The Sunday Times, Bertarelli's father owned the Serono pharmaceutical company, founded in Rome in 1906. Bertarelli took over running the multinational group after his father’s death, which was sold to Merck of Germany in 2006 for US$13.3bn.

In joint 62nd position is Lady Ballyedmond and family, with a wealth of £1.4bn, up from £540m in 2013. The family owns Newry-based Norbrook Laboratories. The Ballyedmonds are also Ireland's 6th richest family. Lord Ballyedmond was killed in a helicopter crash in March.

Navin and Varsha Engineer are worth £810m and come in joint 123rd position. The Kenyan-born Engineers founded a pharmacy chain, which was sold in 1999 for £12m. They also own Surrey-based generic drugs operation Chemidex Pharma, which is worth £750m, the newspaper says.

In joint 139th position are Dennis and Mireille Gillings with a fortune of £720m (up £95m). Gillings founded pharmaceutical research company Quintiles and has a £617m stake.

Two biotechnology companies appear in the listings

In joint 150th position is Yusuf Hamied, whose wealth is in the Indian generic drug firm Cipla, founded by his father in 1935. His fortune is valued at £663m, a fall from £597m in 2013, according to The Sunday Times.

Bhikhu and Vijay Patel are joint 190th with £525m (up £395m). Also Kenyan, the Patel brothers sold the Essex-based Amdipharm operation for £367m in 2012. They still hold a minority stake and continue to develop Waymade Healthcare.

South African Tony Tabatznik, in joint 199th place with assets of £500m, sold Stevenage-based Arrow Generics for US$1.75bn in 2009. In the mid 1990s, he sold Generics (UK) to Merck of Germany for £200m.

In joint 264th position are Amit and Meeta Patel, who are worth £360m, up £60m from 2013. Ruislip-based Auden McKenzie (Pharma Division) had profits of £28.9m in 2012-13. The £325m operation was founded by Amit and is co-owned by his sister Meeta.

Bruce Craig, who sold Marken in 2009, a pharmaceuticals logistics operation in which he had almost a 30% stake, for £975m, is placed joint 307th with assets of £300m.

The pharmaceuticals industry has to wait until joint 458th for its next entry, which is Barrie Haigh, who made his fortune from Innovex, a pharmaceutical research company based in the Thames Valley, netting £275m in shares when it was sold to a US operation in 1996. Haigh has assets of £200m.

In joint 490th are Robert and Patrick Wilson with £195m. They own Wimbledon-based Nelsons, which makes natural medicines, including the Rescue Remedy brand.

John King, formerly a lecturer at Queen’s University, Belfast, made £125m from his stake in Warner Chilcott, where he was Chief Executive. He has £180m in assets, up £18m, and is in joint 514th position. He also appears in the Ireland listings at joint 46th position.

Other pharmaceuticals business executives in the Top 1,000 are Andrew and Linda Leaver (594=; £159m). Leaver founded Clinigen to supply medicines for clinical trials, which was floated in 2012 for £429m.

Jonathan Thornton and family enter the listings for the first time in joint 607th place with assets of £150m. Thornton is the third-generation of his family to run Huddersfield-based over-the-counter medicines manufacturer Thornton & Ross, which was sold for £221m in 2013, according to The Sunday Times.

In 921st position is Lennart Perlhagen with assets of £95m. London-based Perlhagen merged the Cross Pharma operation with Meda in 1999.

Jo Bradwell, founder of The Binding Site, a Birmingham-based developer of immunodiagnostic assays is in joint 947th position with £90m, along with Dallas Burston, who sold Northampton pharmaceutical company Bartholomew-Rhodes in 1999 for £19.8m, selling a £32m stake in Ashbourne Pharmaceuticals at the same time. He owns the £70m company Dallas Burston Ashbourne Holdings.

Two biotechnologists in the rankings are Sir Chris Evans, who has built businesses such as Celsis International and Merlin Biosciences, and is in 571=, with assets of £160m, and Jonathan Milner (781=; £118m), who founded Cambridge-based Abcam, a supplier of protein research tools to the life sciences, in 1998.

In Ireland's Richest 250 listings, in 27th position is Seamus Mulligan with assets of £313m. His stake in Jazz Pharmaceuticals has tripled in value in a year to £224m. He left the company in February as an executive, but remains a part-time director, according to The Sunday Times.

Dublin-based drug trials company Icon’s part-time director is John Climax, who co-founded the company with Ronan Lambe. The value of Climax’s stake in the company is £48m and his wealth is estimated at £105m (82=). Lambe’s wealth is put at £65m (132=).

Also based in Dublin, Michael Costello appears in joint 138th position with assets of £64m. He made £83m in 2006 when he sold his majority stake in Pinewood Laboratories, a Tipperary pharmaceuticals manufacturer.

Finally, Geoffrey Elliott had a £44m stake in Ulster drugs group Warner Chilcott when it was taken over. He is joint 177th with assets of £52m.