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

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 350richestpeople 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 thatKing'soverall 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'sHinduja brothers claimed the top rank inthe 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 theUK'shistory.

According to Robert Watts, thecompiler of the list, the fall shows the billionaire boom in the UK hascome 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.

Priya Sahni-Nicholas, a co-executive director of the Equality Trust, said the UKwas in urgent needto fix this problem.

“Billionaire wealth is up by more than 1,000% since 1990 ata very realcost 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, andhugeinvestments 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 topeople’sneeds and damaging our communities. The result is we are poorer, sicker, less productive, unhappier, more polarised, and less trusting," addedNicholas.

(With inputs from agencies)