Australian finance whiz kid moves higher on British rich list

Hedge fund manager Greg Coffey has raced up Britain’s Sunday Times Rich List after growing his fortune to £200 million ($408 million) from £120 million ($250 million) in the past 12 months.

Coffey is one of the few entrepreneurs to actually see his wealth increase. He rose from 644th position on the list in 2008 to 247th this year.

But Coffey was one of the lucky ones. The 1000 members of the Sunday Times Rich List saw a total of $316 billion wiped of the total value of their fortunes, with the number of billionaires on the list crashing from 75 to 43.

The richest person on the list, Indian steel baron Lakshmi Mittal, is also the biggest loser. His fortune fell by £16.9 billion ($35 billion) to £10.8 billion ($22 billion) as steel prices crashed around the world.

Russian entrepreneur Roman Abramovich retains second spot. He saw his fortune fall £4.7 billion ($9.5 billion) to £7 billion ($14.2 billion).  The Duke of Westminster – who owns huge tracts of property in the exclusive London suburbs of Mayfair and Belgravia – was third with £6.5 billion ($13.3 billion).

Coffey, who is 37 years old, rose to prominence in April last year when it emerged he had personally collected $300 million in fees in the 2007-08 financial year. He had planned to open his own hedge fund this year, but the global financial crisis put paid to this plan and he now works for hedge fund company Moore Capital.

The richest Australian on the list is Michael Hintze, who owns hedge fund company CQS. His wealth decreased by £40 million to £210 million ($427 million) over the past 12 months as high-net worth investors shied away from hedge funds.

Kylie Minogue’s fortune also took a hit, dropping from $83.5 million to $71.25 million.

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