<p>A UK businessman whose firm owns a government contract to transport and accommodate asylum seekers has seen his fortunes skyrocket over the last year. Graham King, 56, the founder and majority owner of Clearsprings Ready Homes, has now been named among the 350&nbsp;richest&nbsp;people in the UK. Clearsprings owns a 10-year Home Office contract for housing thousands of asylum seekers in the country.</p>

<p>The Sunday Times rich list revealed that&nbsp;King's&nbsp;overall wealth is estimated to be more than $950 million owing to&nbsp;“holiday parks, inheritance and housing asylum seekers for the government”. His firm Clearsprings saw its profits after tax rising to $80 million in the year ending January 2023, a rise of more than 100 per cent compared to the previous year.</p>

<p>India's&nbsp;Hinduja brothers claimed the top rank in&nbsp;the rich list, with an estimated fortune of&nbsp;$47 billion, up from around $40 billion last year.</p>

<p>But overall, the number of billionaires in the country has fallen from 177 to 165, the largest in the&nbsp;UK's&nbsp;history.</p>

<p>According to Robert Watts, the&nbsp;compiler of the list, the fall shows the billionaire boom in the UK has&nbsp;come to an end.</p>

<p>“Many of our homegrown entrepreneurs have seen their fortunes fall and some of the global super-rich who came here are moving away,”&nbsp;he was quoted as saying by the Guardian.</p>

<p><strong>Watch:&nbsp;UK PM Rishi Sunak, wife amass more wealth in 2024</strong></p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/uk-pm-rishi-sunak-wife-amass-more-wealth-in-2024-722634/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>
</div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

<p>The list revealed that the net worth of UK PM Rishi Sunak has increased to $827 million ahead of the polls.</p>

<p>Experts caution the list highlights the mind-boggling extent of inequality in the country.</p>

<p><strong>Also read:&nbsp;<a data-ved="2ahUKEwj518DF1JaGAxXwoa8BHWa4D10QxfQBKAB6BAgJEAE" href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/uk-rishi-sunak-faces-leadership-challenge-as-tory-mps-submit-letters-of-no-confidence-722080" jsname="YKoRaf" ping="/url?sa=t&amp;source=web&amp;rct=j&amp;opi=89978449&amp;url=https://www.wionews.com/videos/uk-rishi-sunak-faces-leadership-challenge-as-tory-mps-submit-letters-of-no-confidence-722080&amp;ved=2ahUKEwj518DF1JaGAxXwoa8BHWa4D10QxfQBKAB6BAgJEAE">UK: Rishi Sunak faces leadership challenge as Tory MPs submit letters of no confidence</a></strong></p>

<p>Priya Sahni-Nicholas, a co-executive director of the Equality Trust, said the UK&nbsp;was in urgent need&nbsp;to fix this problem.</p>

<p>“Billionaire wealth is up by more than 1,000% since 1990 at&nbsp;a very real&nbsp;cost to us all,”&nbsp;she said.&nbsp;“This rich list is built off record bill increases, massive price hikes for essentials, an endless shortage of decent homes, and&nbsp;huge&nbsp;investments in fossil fuels.</p>

<p>“To make progress on these crises we must tackle inequality. The super-rich have spent centuries diverting wealth into their hands, making our democracy less responsive to&nbsp;people’s&nbsp;needs and damaging our communities. The result is we are poorer, sicker, less productive, unhappier, more polarised, and less trusting," added&nbsp;Nicholas.</p>

<p><em>(With inputs from agencies)</em></p>


A UK businessman whose firm owns a government contract to transport and accommodate asylum seekers has seen his fortunes skyrocket over the last year. Graham King, 56, the founder and majority owner of Clearsprings Ready Homes, has now been named among the 350 richest people in the UK.

A UK businessman whose firm owns a government contract to transport and accommodate asylum seekers has seen his fortunes skyrocket over the last year. Graham King, 56, the founder and majority owner of Clearsprings Ready Homes, has now been named among the 350 richest people in the UK. Clearsprings owns a 10-year Home Office contract for housing thousands of asylum seekers in the country. The Sunday Times rich list revealed that King's overall wealth is estimated to be more than $950 million owing to “holiday parks, inheritance and housing asylum seekers for the government”. His firm Clearsprings saw its profits after tax rising to $80 million in the year ending January 2023, a rise of more than 100 per cent compared to the previous year. India's Hinduja brothers claimed the top rank in the rich list, with an estimated fortune of $47 billion, up from around $40 billion last year. But overall, the number of billionaires in the country has fallen from 177 to 165, the largest in the UK's history. According to Robert Watts, the compiler of the list, the fall shows the billionaire boom in the UK has come to an end. “Many of our homegrown entrepreneurs have seen their fortunes fall and some of the global super-rich who came here are moving away,” he was quoted as saying by the Guardian. Watch: UK PM Rishi Sunak, wife amass more wealth in 2024 × The list revealed that the net worth of UK PM Rishi Sunak has increased to $827 million ahead of the polls. Experts caution the list highlights the mind-boggling extent of inequality in the country. Also read: UK: Rishi Sunak faces leadership challenge as Tory MPs submit letters of no confidence Priya Sahni-Nicholas, a co-executive director of the Equality Trust, said the UK was in urgent need to fix this problem. “Billionaire wealth is up by more than 1,000% since 1990 at a very real cost to us all,” she said. “This rich list is built off record bill increases, massive price hikes for essentials, an endless shortage of decent homes, and huge investments in fossil fuels. “To make progress on these crises we must tackle inequality. The super-rich have spent centuries diverting wealth into their hands, making our democracy less responsive to people’s needs and damaging our communities. The result is we are poorer, sicker, less productive, unhappier, more polarised, and less trusting," added Nicholas. (With inputs from agencies)

UK businessman makes a fortune out of migrant crisis, net worth skyrockets to $950mn

graham-king

Graham King, News on Graham King, stories on Graham King, articles on Graham King, Graham King stories at Wion, Graham King news, Graham King latest news

graham king

UK businessman makes a fortune out of migrant crisis, net worth skyrockets to $950mn