Business Insider’s annual Rich List identified £45.6 billion of wealth shared between our region’s 50 most affluent individuals and families - up almost 9% on the previous year.
Whilst you will find familiar names in these rankings - such as Mohsin and Zuber Issa, the petrol retailing brothers who took control of Asda, or Fred and Peter Done, another pair of famous billionaire brothers, best known for their BetFred gambling empire - often it’s the new entries and lesser-known entrepreneurs and business leaders who are the most intriguing.
One debutant on the full list is the McMahon family who, ten years ago, bought Heinz’s 11-acre babymilk factory in Kendal for just £1, and now have a fast-growing infant nutrition venture.
Our region has also become home to a number of companies profiting from the boom in vaping. E-cigarettes have proven to be a divisive topic to many - and a sizable business opportunity for Phil Boyle and Mubarak Patel who oth appear in this year’s rankings.
Gone are the days when Rich Lists are dominated by finance, industry or property. Fortunes are now being made in more diverse and surprising ways. There’s some inspiration for ambitious entrepreneurs, whatever type of business they’re growing.
Although the entire list features 50 names, we have outlined just the 25 richest people in the North West for you below...
How the list was created
This list features entrepreneurs or business leaders who are either working in a company they either started themselves or inherited. Business Insider also include those still living in the area who have recently sold their main businesses but retain interests in other ventures.
Business Insider valued stakes in quoted companies in July 2025. Private companies were valued according to the ratios in their sectors or more generally where a sector rating was not evident, at around ten times their latest profit figures, which in many cases is more conservative than stock market ratings.
They deducted appropriate sums from dividends and company sales to reflect tax unless they were certain someone is not domiciled in the UK for tax.
7. Simon Nixon (2025: £1.95bn, 2024: £1.880bn)
The Fortress, Nixon’s Malibu holiday home, survived the LA fires earlier this year because it is largely made of concrete and steel - even acting as a firebreak helping to save other properties from destruction. Nixon has been renting out the five-bedroom property for around $200,000 a month. The one-time university dropout owes his fortune to Moneysupermarket. He floated the price comparison site on the stockmarket in 2007, making more than £700m by selling shares in the Chester-based outfit over the years. More recently Nixon has done well from investing in the stock market, hedge funds and private equity. His tech investments alone are now worth around £890m. His £375m real estate empire includes glamorous holiday retreats in Barbados, Cornwall, Mallorca, Cumbria and The Cotswolds. | archive from Facebook
8. Henry Moser and family (2025: £1.875bn, 2024: £1.759bn)
Finance: Financial services A former car dealer who clocked there was more money to be made selling loans to finance vehicles than old bangers, Moser has become one of the kings of the UK’s lending industry. His Cheadle-based group Together provides loans to businesses, property developers, buy-to-let investors and customers who can struggle to find credit from mainstream providers. Underlying profits climbed by 23% to £200.9m in 2024. Moser owns all of Together and there has been talk of a sale valuing the business at as much as £2bn. In the current market a £1.7bn price looks fairer - £100 more than a year ago. Balances in Moser’s property company have also grown by £16.1m since last year’s Rich List. The low-profile lender has also done well from dividends and a deal with private equity in recent years. | Google Maps
9. John Whittaker and family (2025: £1.848bn, 2024: £1.623bn)
Property: Real estate development Whittaker’s TraffordCity project aims to transform a 500-acre site close to Manchester’s centre into a leading leisure and retail destination with a £400m water park, an ice arena, surf park and glamorous hotel. The Isle-of-Man based developer has long been delivering vast undertakings, such as Salford’s MediaCity and the Liverpool2 container port. Whittaker’s wealth is particularly difficult to track because his biggest companies are based offshore. However, two of the largest onshore entities – Peel L&P Investments Holdings and Peel Holdings (Land and Property) – have grown their assets by nearly £71m over the past year. A separate Whittaker company paid out a £153.9m dividend. | PAUL ELLIS Photo: PAUL ELLIS
10. Michael Flacks (2025: £1.681bn, 2024: £1.213bn)
Property and industry: Real estate development Last year the Manchester-born investor snapped up a 180-room hotel close to the Augusta National Golf Club, home to the US Masters. Raised in Cheetham Hill, Flacks now divides much of his time between Miami, New York and Monaco. His eponymous Flacks Group, specialises in finding hidden value in distressed assets, be that properties or industrial companies. His most valuable companies include Kelly-Moore Paints and Pleuger, a maker of pumps and other components used in the water and renewable energy industries. His diverse property empire includes assets in Bulgaria, Brazil, France, Germany and the US as well as Manchester. | Other Photo: Other
11. Peter Jones and family (2025: £1.483bn, 2024: £1.390bn)
Property: Real estate development Despite turning 90 in March, Jones remains at the helm of his diverse property group. His Eagle Creek development in Florida completed 335 homes last year, each at an average price of $745,000. This vast, gated community now numbers more than 3,000 properties. The former carpenter launched his Alderley Edge-based Emerson Group as a housebuilder in 1959, before long diversifying into commercial property, hotels and developments in Portugal and the United States. His developments have included the Lowry Outlet on Manchester’s quays and the home of Bolton Wanderers Football Club. Jones’ two main companies now show wealth of £1.36bn - £93.2m more than a year ago. | Google Maps
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12. Bill, Will (pictured) and Richard Ainscough (2025: £1.3bn, 2024: £1.07bn)
Property: Real estate development Wain Group completed 880 homes last year. The Warrington-based construction group has land either under development or with planning permission with a value of almost £1.2bn. Father Bill Ainscough set up the Warrington-based group 53 years ago. His son Will is now executive chairman. Another son, Richard, oversees the separate property firm Network Space. This has 10 million square feet of industrial real estate across 150 locations and is worth its net assets of £113.9m. Dividends and rising asset balances over the past year take the Ainscoughs to £1.3bn. | Phil Tragen 2022