Times may be tough, but there's still plenty of money to be made in hotels and restaurants, if the recently published Sunday Times Rich List 2003 is anything to go by.
A good showing from the hospitality industry saw financier Urs Schwarzenbach, owner of the Dolder Grand hotel in Zurich, top the bill as the industry's richest person, with an estimated fortune of £800m. He is placed joint 27th in the overall list of the wealthiest 1,000 people in Britain.
Sir David and Sir Frederick Barclay, who have an interest in London's Ritz hotel, come in at joint 34th place, their combined fortune of £650m putting them ahead of Sir Terry Matthews, owner of the Celtic Manor resort in Gwent, Wales.
Matthews, who topped last year's hospitality table, drops from 24th to 42nd position. Admittedly, he made his fortune of £610m in telecommunications rather than hotels.
Sir Rocco Forte, owner of the RF hotel chain, and Radisson Edwardian's chairman Jasminder Singh both come in the top 100. Forte's £375m puts him in 85th place, while Singh makes joint 89th place with his estimated £350m.
Further industry inclusions are Andrew Brownsword, owner of the Bath Priory hotel and restaurant in Bath, whose £195m puts him in 163rd place, and Robert Earl, founder of the Planet Hollywood burger chain. Earl, joint 316th, is worth £100m.
Sir Terence Conran, founder of Conran Holdings, is in joint 504th position with £68m, while food writer and film maker Michael Winner comes in at number 874.
The UK's wealthiest hoteliers and restaurateurs
|
Urs Schwarzenbach |
Dolder Grand hotel, Zurich |
£800m |
|
Sir David and Sir Frederick Barclay |
The Ritz, London |
£650m |
|
Sir Terry Matthews |
Celtic Manor, Gwent |
£610m |
|
Mohamed al Fayed |
The Ritz, Paris |
£486m |
|
Bernard Lewis |
Lewis Trust Group, various hotels |
£380m |
|
Sir Rocco Forte and family |
RF Hotels |
£375m |
|
Jasminder Singh |
Edwardian Hotels |
£350m |
|
Andrew Brownsword |
Bath Priory |
£195m |
|
Hugh Osmond |
Wellington Investments (pubs) |
£182m |
|
Sir Peter Michael |
The Vineyard, Stockcross |
£147m |
|
Guy Hands |
Benfica (hotels) |
£140m |
|
Robert Earl |
Planet Hollywood |
£100m |
|
Bill Rooney |
Westmorland Golf Resort, Barbados |
£100m |
|
David Shamoon |
various hotels, Spain |
£100m |
|
Harpal Matharu and family |
Globalgrange |
£93m |
|
Richard Walduck and family |
Imperial London Hotels |
£90m |
|
Surinder Arora |
Arora International, Heathrow |
£87m |
|
David Seymour |
Pomme D'Or (among others), Jersey |
£80m |
|
Firoz Kassam |
Heythrop Park, Oxfordshire |
£76m |
|
Brian Stein |
Maxwell's/Café de Paris |
£75m |
|
Tim Ingram Hill |
Ingram Hotels |
£70m |
|
Sir Terence |
Conran Conran Restaurants |
£68m |
|
Alex Langsam |
Britannia Hotels |
£62m |
|
Tim Martin |
Wetherspoons |
£62m |
|
Michael Morton |
Britannia Hotels |
£62m |
|
Lord Daresbury/Greenall family |
De Vere Hotels |
£60m |
|
Maurice Segal |
Modern Hotels and Expotel |
£60m |
|
John Marston |
Marston Hotels |
£56m |
|
Bakir Cola |
Cola Holdings (various hotels) |
£55m |
|
Diljit Rana |
Andras House |
£54m |
|
Ken McCulloch |
Columbus Hotels |
£45m |
|
Satinder Gulhati |
Edwardian Hotels |
£44m |
|
Philip Kaye |
ASK Central |
£43m |
|
Tej and Bobby Dhilon |
Dhilon Hotels, Buckinghamshire |
£40m |
|
Michael Winner |
food critic and film director |
£40m |
|
Gulshen Bhatia |
London Plaza Hotels |
£38m |
|
Goran Strok |
Wren Hotel Group |
£35m |
|
Richard Broyd |
Historic House Hotels |
£34m |
|
Guiseppe Pecorelli |
Exclusive Hotels |
£34m |
|
Norman Springford |
Apex Hotels |
£21m |