Christopher Harborne, the Thailand-based billionaire behind record political donations to Reform UK, is a new entrant on the 2026 Sunday Times Rich List with an estimated fortune of £18.2 billion.
Harborne's wealth is derived largely from his investments and shareholdings in financial companies, including Tether, the cryptocurrency platform with an estimated valuation of roughly $200 billion.
He also holds major investments in London-listed defence technology firm QinetiQ and payments provider IFX, as well as other aerospace businesses.
The British billionaire has lived and worked in Thailand for more than 20 years, and researchers believe his true wealth could be larger than the estimate as some is held overseas or could not be identified.
Harborne was thrust into the public eye after a £5 million gift to Nigel Farage in 2024, which is now the subject of an investigation by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards.
He separately donated £9 million to Reform UK in August 2025, the biggest single donation in history to a political party from a living person.
His entrance at sixth place puts him ahead of established names, including Revolut founder Nik Storonsky at seventh with £16.4 billion and Sir Jim Ratcliffe at ninth with £15.2 billion.
Storonsky was the biggest riser on the 2026 list, with his personal wealth growing by an average of £25.8 million a day since last year, driven by a fresh fundraise valuing Revolut at around $75 billion.
The Hinduja family topped the list for another year at £38 billion, while the number of UK billionaires edged up to 157 from 156.
Elsewhere, Sir David Beckham became Britain's first billionaire sportsman, with his and wife Victoria's combined wealth passing the billion-pound mark to reach £1.185 billion, boosted by his co-ownership of Inter Miami.