Great Britain’s gambling industry royalty saw their wealth grow a combined 20 percent over the last year to £19 billion (US billion).
Five billionaires and 15 multimillionaires from the industry made the 2017 edition of the Sunday Times’ “Rich List” after a tidy year-on-year spurt in collective net worth of some £3 billion.
At the head of this elite were racing tycoons David and Simon Reuben, owners of Arena Racing, which operates 15 British tracks. The brother saw their net worth rise by £900 million to £14 billion last year, the third-largest fortune in the country, though not from fast horses. Most of their wealth was amassed in property and trading aluminum in Russia and investments in airports, hotels, technology and banking.
Siblings Denise and John Coates, on the other hand, along with their father, Peter Coates, do owe most of their net worth to gambling. The owners of Bet365 and Stoke City Football Club were valued at £3.8 billion to £5 billion, good for 22nd overall on the Times list.
Close behind was PokerStars co-founder and former CEO Mark Scheinberg, who, along with his father Isai Scheinberg, sold the online poker giant to Amaya for $4.9 billion in 2014. Mark Scheinberg who has since moved into property, saw his net worth increase £828 million to just under £3.7 billion.
Rounding out the top of the list were Betfred founders Fred and Peter Done, who ranked 37th with £1.3 billion, and Party Gaming founders Ruth Parasol and ex-husband Russ DeLeon, ranked 180th with £720 million.
