Northern Ireland’s richest families revealed as wealth shifts reshape The Sunday Times Rich List

Lady Ballyedmond and family remain the wealthiest people in Northern Ireland with an estimated fortune of £898 million, despite suffering a £24 million drop in wealth over the past year, according to the 2026 edition of The Sunday Times Rich List.

The annual rankings, published by The Sunday Times Rich List, paint a striking picture of changing fortunes, billionaire migration and growing concern over an exodus of wealth from the UK.

This year’s list reveals that one in six people who appeared in the Rich List just two years ago have now disappeared from the rankings entirely.

For Northern Ireland, however, the latest figures also underline the scale of wealth concentrated in sectors including pharmaceuticals, fuel distribution, food supply and elite sport.

Lady Ballyedmond retains top spot despite fall in fortune

Lady Ballyedmond and family once again top the Northern Ireland rankings with an estimated wealth of £898 million.

The pharma heiress (Norbrook), who trained as a solicitor and formerly worked as a lecturer, saw her estimated wealth fall from £922 million in 2025.

According to the Rich List, Lady Ballyedmond has recently moved to Italy.

Her family’s fortune remains heavily linked to pharmaceuticals, continuing the legacy associated with the Ballyedmond business empire.

Despite the decline, the Ballyedmond family remain comfortably ahead of every other wealthy individual or family in Northern Ireland.

Fuel empire records major rise in wealth

Second place on the Northern Ireland list goes to Michael Loughran and family, whose estimated fortune surged from £530 million to £770 million in just one year.

The family’s wealth is tied to a fuel distribution and petrol station group (LCC and Go) with reported annual turnover exceeding £1 billion.

The Rich List also notes that the family transferred £89.8 million to the Isle of Man last year.

The sharp rise means the Loughran family recorded one of the largest wealth increases among Northern Ireland’s top-ranked entries this year.

Food supplier family climbs again

Robert and William Barnett and family rank third in Northern Ireland with an estimated wealth of £715 million.

Their fortune, built through the food supply sector, increased significantly from £647 million in 2025.

The latest rankings show all three of Northern Ireland’s wealthiest families remain tied to industries with major international commercial reach.

Rory McIlroy named richest under 40 in Northern Ireland

Golf superstar Rory McIlroy has been named the wealthiest person under 40 in Northern Ireland.

The Rich List estimates McIlroy’s fortune at £325 million.

The figure places him 17th in the national UK “40 Under 40” rankings and also makes him the richest sportsperson under 40 in the United Kingdom.

His wealth, driven by golf earnings and global sponsorship deals, is rising at a remarkable pace.

According to the figures released alongside the rankings, McIlroy’s fortune has increased by the equivalent of more than £175,000 every single day.

For many readers across Northern Ireland, McIlroy’s continued rise represents one of the region’s most globally recognisable modern success stories — transforming elite sporting achievement into one of the largest personal fortunes anywhere on the island of Ireland.

A shrinking Rich List and a warning over wealth leaving the UK

Beyond Northern Ireland’s rankings, this year’s Rich List highlights broader economic concerns around wealthy individuals leaving Britain altogether.

Robert Watts, compiler of The Sunday Times Rich List, said the 2026 edition reflected “a tale of two exoduses”.

He said:

“Many foreign billionaires who have been living in the UK have also dropped out because they have moved away.

“We have also seen a sharp rise in the number of British nationals now resident in Dubai, Switzerland and Monaco.”

Watts warned the trend could create longer-term challenges for the UK economy and public finances, particularly around investment, job creation and taxation.

The 2026 Rich List estimates that the 350 richest individuals and families in Britain now hold combined wealth of £783.5 billion.

According to the publication, that total exceeds the annual GDP of countries including Belgium, Sweden and Israel.

Yet despite the enormous scale of wealth recorded, the minimum entry point for the Rich List has fallen to £340 million — another sign, the publication suggests, of a more subdued year for Britain’s ultra-wealthy.

Celebrities, entrepreneurs and new fortunes

This year’s rankings again include globally recognised names from entertainment, publishing, beauty, motorsport and music.

Figures appearing in the wider UK Rich List include Elton John, Mick Jagger, Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling, beauty entrepreneur Charlotte Tilbury and Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton.

The Sunday Times said this year’s list also reflects the growing influence of fortunes linked to artificial intelligence, cryptocurrency and emerging technologies, alongside more traditional industries.

The publication describes the rankings as the “definitive guide to wealth in the UK”, based on identifiable assets including property, land, shareholdings, racehorses and art collections.

Bank accounts are excluded because the newspaper has no access to them.

The full 2026 Sunday Times Rich List can be viewed online now at https://www.thetimes.com/sunday-times-rich-list

the 38th edition of The Sunday Times Rich List, will be in the paper this Sunday, May 17, 2026. 

This weekend’s 76-page special edition of The Sunday Times Magazine reveals the wealth of the 350 richest people in Britain, as well as The Sunday Times Giving List in association with the Charities Aid Foundation.