One-Third of Billionaires on the Sunday Times Rich List Have Donated £62 Million to the Conservative Party

Boris Johnson’s party has been harvesting the cash of some of the richest people in the country, report Daisy Bata and Max Colbert

For the past 30 years, the Sunday Times has released its annual Rich List. A catalogue of the top 250 wealthiest people in the UK, it faced controversy last year as, amid a global pandemic and nationwide hardship, its publication struck the wrong note.

This year, the list was quietly released online midweek alongside a new ‘Giving List’ – showcasing the top individuals on the rich list who have ‘given back’ to society, led by footballer Marcus Rashford for his campaigns to provide better school meals for children.

However, congratulating the mega-wealthy on their social causes does little to obscure the revelation that the pandemic has spawned more billionaires in the UK than ever, as the Sunday Times itself reported.

Byline Times and The Citizens can additionally reveal the political connections of those featured on this year’s list. According to our research, 83 out of the 250 cited individuals have donated to the Conservative Party. Over the past two decades, they have donated almost £62 million.

SUBSCRIBE TO FEARLESS, INDEPENDENT JOURNALISM FOR AS LITTLE AS £3 A MONTH

The Top 10

The top 10 Conservative donors of the 83 on the Rich List make up 68% of the total donations during this time period, while four are Conservative Party peers.

Leading the pack is Lord Anthony Bamford, chairman of JCB, who has donated £8.5 million since 2002 alongside members of his family. Bamford has been a Conservative life peer since 2003, and ranks at number 38 on the Sunday Times Rich List, with an estimated wealth of £4.5 billion. Bamford is an ardent Brexiter, paying Boris Johnson £10,000 for a speech in 2019, before asking the Prime Minister to famously smash through a wall on a JCB tractor in a ‘Get Brexit Done’ publicity stunt.

The second largest donor is John Gore. Ranked at number 101 on the Rich List, Gore is one of the biggest Conservative Party donors in history. The theatre producer has won a Tony award, an Emmy and an Olivier, and owns a vast amount of London’s West End theatres. He has donated £6.2 million to the Conservatives since 2017.

Lord Michael Ashcroft, former Conservative deputy cha