Three accountants were included on The Sunday Times Rich List for 2026 with a combined fortune of £5.7bn.

The most valuable of the trio was Sunderland born accountant John Reece. Listed in 40th place, the accountant and former partner at PwC was valued at £4.7bn.

After graduating from Cambridge University with a degree in economics, Reece qualified as an accountant in 1982, starting at PricewaterhouseCoopers, now PwC.

Reece specialised in working with chemical companies at PwC where he rose to become a partner, before leaving to join the chemical conglomerate Ineos as financial director in the year 2000.

The accountant now owns 19.1% of Ineos and is described as a one of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s ‘key lieutenants’.

According to the Rich List, Reece’s fortunes have declined in recent years. In 2026 he was listed as being worth £4.7bn, down from £5.3bn in 2025, and a third below the £7.2bn recorded in 2024.

The second wealthiest accountant appearing on the rich list is Scottish businessman and founder of Stagecoach Group, Sir Brian Souter.

Along with his sister Dame Ann Gloa, who was co-founder of Stagecoach, the pair are worth an estimated £878m, up from £805m the year previous.

The now 72-year-old Souter studied accountancy and economics at Strathclyde University in Glasgow, before becoming a chartered accountant at Arthur Andersen in 1984.

His sister, Ann did not follow him into accounting, instead qualifying as a nurse.

The son of a bus conductor, Reece continued working on the buses well into his accountancy career, stating on his website he had to live a secret double life both as an accountant and bus conductor.

However, he is most famous for the travel companies he set up after leaving the firm, founding bus company Stagecoach in 1980, along with his sister, then South West Trains franchise in 1996, and Megabus in 2003.

In 2015, Souter was elected vice president of ICAS, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland, before becoming president in 2017 for the usual one-year term.

The third wealthiest accountant appeared for the first time, coming in at number 35 on the 40 under 40 rich list.

Nizam Bata, worth £120m, qualified as an ACCA-accredited accountant in 2011 while studying at the London School of Business and Finance.

The Rich List debutant started out working at his father’s accountancy firm, where he first learnt about the care sector from clients who ran nursing homes.

The Leicester based accountant then founded iBC Healthcare in 2012, an organisation designed to support those with learning disabilities, autism, and mental health needs across the Midlands.

The organisation initially provided daycare, before evolving to cater for full time care. The group now owns five care homes, six-day centres, and runs 90 supported living centres.

The list also contained the usual well-known names.

At number one for the first time were brothers Sanjay and Dheeraj Hinduja, and family who were valued at £38bn, most well known for the Tata conglomerate.

It was their father Gopi, who topped the list last year. But due to his passing away, the London based sons took the top spot.

The siblings, Sanjay, and Dheera, now oversee the vast Hinduja Group, spanning sectors from oil, to banking, and car manufacturing.

Second and third place were carbon copies of last year’s list, with David and Simon Rueben in second place, followed by Sir Leonard Blavatnik in third.

The Reuben’s, two Indian born brothers who made their fortune in metal and real estate, were valued at £27.9bn, up from £26.8bn the year prior.

Blavatnik’s fortune also grew from £25.8bn in 2025, to £26.8bn in 2026.

The Ukrainian born financier has a $15bn (£11.2bn) stake in Warner Music and owns a fifth of chemicals manufacturer LyondellBasell.

The top 10 also included owner of the petrochemical empire Ineos, and stakeholder in Manchester United Football Club, Sir Jim Ratcliffe. However, the list stated Ratcliffe’s wealth had taken a hit this year, down from £17bn to £15.1bn year-on-year, due to a £515m loss at Ineos.

Famous names to appear on the list this year include the UK’s first billionaire sportsman, Sir David Beckham whose wealth was said to have doubled in the last year, with David and Victoria Beckham now worth £1.18bn, up from £500m the year previous.

On the back of their much-acclaimed world tour, the Gallagher brothers were debutants this year, Liam and Noel Gallagher of Oasis fame had an estimated net worth of £375m.