Man City and Crystal Palace meet in FA Cup final as Eagles eye history: Live
Manchester City face Crystal Palace in the FA Cup final as Pep Guardiola’s team look to salvage a disappointing season and deny the Eagles their first major trophy at Wembley.
While City are aiming to win their 19th major honour since Guardiola took charge, Palace are a game away from securing a historic first under manager Oliver Glasner after previous heartbreaks at the national stadium.
Palace lost the 1990 final to Manchester United in a replay and were also beaten by the same opposition in the 2016 final after extra time. Eberechi Eze was the star of their semi-final win over Aston Villa last month.
City, meanwhile, will look to striker Erling Haaland, who called his side’s year “horrific” this week. City are used to competing for the Premier League and Champions League but Guardiola said winning the FA Cup is “massively important” to them.
Follow all the latest build-up and team news ahead of the FA Cup final, below
F1 Imola GP LIVE: Lewis Hamilton eyes shock pole position for Ferrari
F1 heads to Italy as Imola hosts the first leg of the European summer stint, the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, and round seven of the 2025 F1 season this weekend.
Oscar Piastri won his third race in a row last time out in Miami, extending his championship lead with McLaren teammate Lando Norris now 16 points behind.
Mercedes’ George Russell earned his fourth podium of the year with a third-place finish, while pole-sitter Max Verstappen finished fourth. As for Ferrari, it was another weekend to forget with an irritated Lewis Hamilton finishing eighth, with Charles Leclerc just a spot ahead in seventh.
Yet the Scuderia will be eyeing an improvement in front of their home tifosi crowd in Imola. Last year, Verstappen won the race after holding off a late charge from Norris.
Follow live updates from the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix with The Independent
The Eurovision 2025 acts competing in the grand final
A further 10 countries have gone through to the Eurovision 2025 Grand Final, including Israel’s contestant Yuval Raphael, Austria’s JJ and Malta’s Miriana Conte.
The second semi-final of this year’s competition saw 16 acts perform at the 12,000-capacity St Jakobshalle arena on Thursday 15 May.
Raphael made it through to the final amid significant controversy surrounding Israel’s participation in Eurovision due to its war on Gaza.
Meanwhile, there was disappointment for Ireland’s entry Emmy, who failed to qualify for the final. Austria’s JJ, a strong favourite in this year’s competition, did make it through, along with Greece’s Klavdia and Armenia’s PARG.
Twenty-six acts will now compete in the Eurovision 2025 grand final on Saturday 17 May.
Here are the finalists, including the “big five”.
Sweden’s entry KAJ are the first ever Finnish act to represent Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest, while “Bara Bada Bastu” is the first Swedish-language song the country has submitted since 1998.
The Vörå-formed trio comprises comedians and musicians Kevin Holmström, Axel Åhman and Jakob Norrgård, who have released seven albums and also written and performed two musicals at the Wasa Theatre in their native Finland.
Should they win, the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest contest would return to the country just two years after it was held in Malmö, following Loreen’s triumph.
Earlier this week, an open letter signed by former Eurovision contestants called on the European Broadcasting Union, which organises Eurovision, to ban Israel and its national broadcaster KAN from the contest.
About 1,300 Swiss police officers will be on duty in Basel while the contest is taking place, with more forces drafted in from the Swiss Armed Forces, federal police and neighbouring countries Germany and France ahead of the two semi-finals on Tuesday and Thursday, and the Grand Final on Saturday.
Basel police’s head of communications Adrian Plachesi told the Press Association that no permission has been granted for protests, but officers would be stationed for expected pro-Palestinian demonstrations.
He added officers “might have to intervene” if demonstrations interfere with “public safety”.
The Eurovision 2025 grand final takes place on Saturday 17 May and will be broadcast on BBC One from 8pm.
MPs accuse Esther Rantzen of ‘distasteful’ stance in assisted dying debate
Health secretary Wes Streeting became involved in an extraordinary attack on Dame Esther Rantzen as the Commons debate over assisted dying grew fractious.
The broadcaster and campaigner, who has stage 4 cancer and is a leading advocate of assisted dying, had criticised MPs who oppose Kim Leadbeater’s controversial bill as having “undeclared religious beliefs”.
Labour MP Jess Asato described the intervention as “distasteful and disrespectful” in a post on X/Twitter that was subsequently retweeted by Mr Streeting.
The row came during an ill-tempered debate over the report stage of the bill, where MPs backed an amendment to allow NHS workers to opt out of assisted dying cases.
During angry scenes, a point of order was made against Ms Leadbeater after she disappeared from the Commons for around 45 minutes during the debate.
“Is it not a discourtesy to the House and those who have spent some considerable time working on amendments on both sides of the argument, for her not to be here, to hear what they are advocating?”, said Conservative former minister Simon Hoare.
Ahead of the clashes in the Commons, Dame Esther’s daughter Rebecca Wilcox told The Independent: “Sir Keir [Starmer] promised mum it would happen. I think if he promised mum it would happen and then it doesn’t happen, he might need to run for the hills. Because you don’t cross my mum.”
Addressing critics of the bill, Ms Wilcox said she doesn’t believe there is “a God out there that would punish me for not wanting my mum to have a painful death”.
She was speaking as protesters from both sides of the debate gathered outside the Commons to let MPs know their views, with a number of parliamentarians declaring that they had changed their minds on the issue.
MPs debated amendments to the legislation, including preventing medical staff from raising the option of assisted dying with a patient first. However, they ran out of time, and further debate and voting will now take place on 13 June.
Former Labour minister Anneliese Dodds said the “prospect of a prosecution, sadly, often has not been sufficient to prevent abuse” and coercion could continue to take place.
It comes after the much-lauded High Court safeguard was scrapped in favour of a panel of experts signing off on assisted dying cases.
But Ms Leadbeater said the legislation “goes further than any other around the world in its safeguards, oversight and regulation”.
Laying out her support for the bill, she said many people had “lost loved ones in deeply difficult and traumatic circumstances”.
Labour MP Marie Tidball, who lives with a disability, told the Commons everyone should have the “opportunity to be able to choose a good death”.
While some disability activists have argued that the bill could pressure disabled people to end their lives prematurely, supporters of the bill have made clear that the legislation only allows those who have a terminal diagnosis to access assisted dying.
Ms Tidball said that supporting the bill at its second reading was one of the hardest decisions she has “ever had to make”, and required her to “go to the very depths of myself and draw on my experience as a child in excruciating pain”.
“My support was conditional upon specific changes at committee stage. I am pleased to say all these changes have been made”, she told the Commons.
Liberal Democrat MP Liz Jarvis came close to tears as she spoke about her mother’s seven-year struggle with Alzheimer’s, warning that “palliative care can sometimes only go so far” for patients with neurodegenerative illnesses.
Ms Jarvis backed amendment four, which would give patients access to assisted dying if they have 12 months to live with a neurodegenerative illness or disease, rather than the proposed six.
Her voice cracked with emotion as she concluded her speech: “I know what my mum would have said.”
Ms Leadbeater’s hopes of winning the final vote have been boosted by Labour MP Jack Abbott indicating he may switch from opposing the bill to announcing his support for it.
Mr Abbott – who served on the cross-party parliamentary scrutiny committee that examined the bill – said he believes it is “much improved from the one presented to parliament last year”.
However, Labour MP Peter Lamb, who abstained at the second reading, has announced he will now oppose the bill.
In a lengthy statement to his Crawley constituents, he highlighted that “the bill is being proposed in the shadow of a funding crisis in the hospice sector, with hospices closing or being scaled back across the country”.
Meanwhile, Tory MP Andrew Snowden publicly announced he was switching sides from supporting the Bill to opposing it, with at least five Labour MPs also planning to do the same.
Mr Snowden told The Independent that he still supports the principle but has concerns about the practicalities of the bill, warning that a private member’s bill is “not the right way to go about it”.
He claimed the bill has “already been watered down from its original safeguards”, adding that legislation of “such significance and ladened with such risk should be properly developed and consulted on”.
Labour MP Jonathan Hinder also said he would now vote against the bill, expressing concerns that the legislation has been rushed and telling the BBC “more work needs to be done to make it practicable and safe”.
Trump claims ex-FBI director’s beach picture called for his assassination
Donald Trump has claimed a social media post by the former FBI director James Comey was a call for the president’s assassination.
On Thursday Comey posted a picture of seashells spelling out the numbers “8647,” which has been construed by some as a reference to the 47th president – Trump – and the term “86,” which is commonly used in bars and restaurants and means to cancel an order or toss someone out.
“He knew exactly what that meant. A child knows what that meant,” Trump told Fox News host Bret Baier in an interview on Friday. “If you’re the FBI director and you don’t know what that meant, that meant ‘assassination.’ It says that loud and clear.”
The president called him a “dirty cop” and said he will leave a decision on whether to prosecute him over the post to Attorney General Pam Bondi.
On Instagram, Comey posted an image of the seashells with the caption: “Cool shell formation on my beach walk.”
Administration officials quickly fell in line to denounce the post and demand investigations and prosecution.
Kristi Noem, the secretary of homeland security, swiftly claimed Comey was calling for Trump’s assassination and announced the Department of Homeland Security and the US Secret Service were investigating. Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said the agency is “aware” of Comey’s post and that “we take rhetoric like this very seriously.”
The White House deputy chief of staff Taylor Budowich claimed the post “can clearly be interpreted as ‘a hit’ on the sitting president of the United States.”
Intelligence director Tulsi Gabbard called it “a veiled call to action to murder the sitting president of the United States,” and suggested Comey should be imprisoned immediately.
“James Comey should be held accountable and put behind bars for this,” Gabbard told Fox News host Jesse Watters on Thursday.
Comey — whose firing by Trump during his first term led to the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller — has long been a target of the president and his allies following his investigation to determine whether Trump’s associates coordinated with Russian figures to interfere with the 2016 presidential election.
He subsequently deleted the image of the seashells and explained in a separate post that he had posted a picture of “some shells I saw on a beach walk, which I assumed were a political message.”
“I didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence,” he wrote. “It never occurred to me but I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down.”
It’s unclear on what grounds federal law enforcement officials could investigate Comey, as it is not illegal to post pictures of seashells, even if they spell out something the president and his allies claim is offensive or threatening, which is largely First Amendment-protective activity.
Several high-profile right-wing figures have used the term “86” in recent years, including the now-former Rep. Matt Gaetz, who claimed last February that his allies in Congress had “86’d” Republican leadership.
In 2022, the far-right activist Jack Posobiec wrote “8646,” referring to then-president Joe Biden.
Trump himself has been repeatedly accused of using violent rhetoric against his perceived enemies and political opponents, which federal prosecutors and state attorneys have argued inspired a wave of threats against judges, lawyers, officials and their families.
During his 2016 campaign, he said that if his rival Hillary Clinton could appoint judges, there would be “nothing you can do, folks. Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I don’t know.”
In 2023, Trump accused General Mark Milley, who was then chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, of “treason” over a phone call to a Chinese official. “This is an act so egregious that, in times gone by, the punishment would have been DEATH,” he wrote on Truth Social.
Throughout his criminal investigations and civil trials, prosecutors routinely warned judges that the president’s rhetoric and social media posts — including sharing an image of himself wielding a baseball bat against Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg — could derail the prospect of fair trials and intimidate jurors. Law enforcement reported “serious and credible threats” of violence as well as hoax bomb threats and suspicious packages.
Last year, Trump shared a post on Truth Social suggesting former congresswoman Liz Cheney was “guilty of treason” and should be tried in “televised military tribunals” after she joined a congressional investigation into the events surrounding January 6.
“Let’s see how she feels about it, you know, when the guns are trained on her face,” he said to Tucker Carlson last year, referencing Cheney, whom Trump accused of being a “war hawk.”
During the 2024 campaign, Trump shared a video showing a supporter’s truck with a graphic depicting a hog-tied Joe Biden.
Celebration villa breaks: find your perfect luxury getaway
If you’re planning a milestone birthday, a big anniversary, or a long-awaited reunion, a villa holiday is hard to beat. Imagine clinking glasses on a rooftop terrace at sunset or gathering loved ones around a candlelit garden table for a leisurely dinner under the night sky.
These special occasions deserve much more than booking out a busy hotel, and nothing beats having your own sun-drenched sanctuary where you have the space and privacy to celebrate in style. Whether you’re heading to Marrakech in the shadow of the Atlas Mountains, to the rolling hills of Tuscany, or a tropical oasis further afield, Villas are the perfect home-away-from-home for celebrating something, or someone, special.
CV Villas’ luxurious ABOVE collection offers the perfect backdrop for unforgettable moments – think breathtaking settings, total privacy, and the kind of comfort and space that makes everyone feel at home. All come with stunning interiors, sweeping views as far as the eye can see, and enviable locations in some of the world’s most sought-after spots. Each villa is hand-picked by dedicated CV Villa specialists, who are experts in helping people craft their dream getaway. Many come with their own infinity pools, breathtaking views and large alfresco dining areas, perfect for spending quality time together during life’s most important moments. Villas aren’t just places to stay, they’re a big part of the celebration itself.
From the moment you book your stay to your arrival back home, the CV Villas Concierge team is there to make everything as seamless and stress-free as possible. They are dedicated to looking after you and your party before and throughout your holiday so that you can focus on the things that really matter, like spending quality time together and celebrating without having to worry about the minor details. The team tailors each trip to exactly what you’re after, whether you’re looking to book a private boat day or need to organise a surprise celebration dinner, nothing is too much trouble. Many of the five-star villas even come with their own butlers and chefs so that you can be waited on hand and foot during your special getaway.
ABOVE villas are the epitome of luxury and come with designer interiors, infinity pools boasting panoramic ocean views, and terraces made for golden hour cocktails – properties with serious star quality. What’s more, they’re located all around the world, from the sun-soaked shores of Spain and Greece to the palm-fringed beaches of far-flung Sri Lanka and beyond.
Sampling delicious local food is a big part of a holiday, but catering for a large group can often mean juggling different requests and palates. Luckily for you, many of these luxury villas come with their very own in-villa chefs – perfect for when you’d rather toast the moment with a glass of fizz than spend time flapping around in the kitchen. Instead, let your chef whip up multi-course meals morning till night, using the freshest local produce, all based on your personal tastes and dietary requirements, before tucking into it alfresco under the undisturbed starry night sky.
The little luxuries make a big difference to a bucket-list trip: daily housekeeping to keep things spic and span, spa treatments for when you need a little R&R, wine tastings for the adults, yoga sessions with epic views, and even round-the-clock babysitting. All of this can be arranged to make your stay feel even more indulgent.
Maison Emilion, France
This rustic French villa is practically made for wine lovers, aptly located amidst the rolling vineyards of Bordeaux. This six-bedroom hilltop hangout boasts views of the working vineyards from every angle, including from the heated pool and surrounding sunbeds. Wander into the nearby village of Saint-Émilion, then enjoy the included wine-tasting experience before settling into the garden for dinner with nothing but the glow of flickering candlelight and the moonlit sky.
Oleander, Corfu
It doesn’t get much more luxurious than Oleander in Corfu, a five-bedroom villa overlooking Avlaki Bay and the picturesque town of Kassiopi. It’s located high above the Ionian Sea and is the ideal villa for memorable summer celebrations. Soak up the sunshine from the infinity pool while enjoying views of Albania’s craggy Ceraunian Mountains, or hang out on the wrap-around terraces and communal outside dining areas. During peak season at Oleander, chef service is also included, so you can enjoy meals with your loved ones without even having to leave the villa.
Spirit of Son Fuster, Mallorca
Spirit of Son Fuster in Mallorca is hard to beat for large groups and multigenerational stays. This five-star bolthole is set in a stunning natural landscape at the foot of the Alaro twin mountains, right near the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Serra de Tramuntana, and is as secluded as it gets. This gorgeous 14th-century manor house sleeps twenty people across ten bedrooms and even has its own on-site spa and hammam where everyone can enjoy treatments in the dedicated treatment rooms. There’s even a private cinema room for movie nights and a well-stocked wine cellar filled with local vintage wines.
Masseria Giardini, Puglia
Masseria Giardini in Puglia is the height of luxury and the perfect home-away-from-home for families and large groups. It was built in 1750 and is surrounded by leafy olive groves and landscaped gardens curated by Chelsea Flower Show winners Urquhart & Hunt. Enjoy unparalleled views of the Canale Di Pirro Valley from this ten-bedroom farmhouse and spend days lazing around in the heated pool. This villa is an architectural masterpiece, with signature stone domed roofs and hand-carved stone baths in five of the ten bedrooms.
For more travel information and inspiration and to book your perfect villa getaway, visit CV Villas
Inside the micro-retirement boom – and what you need to afford it
George, a 28-year-old engineer from Bristol, had been working in an apprenticeship scheme for seven years, and had grown bored. “It seemed like I was into it, but in fact, I just never had the headspace to think about whether I liked it or not,” he tells me. Noticing his discontent starting to seep into his personal life, George took a bold decision. He threw caution to the wind, handed in his notice, and booked a one-way flight to Argentina. He used his savings to afford 10 weeks of cycling through rural Patagonia with his brother and a friend, who’d also quit their jobs.
George is one of many young workers taking a “micro-retirement” – a burgeoning lifestyle movement that’s gone viral on social media platforms and is growing in popularity among Gen Z and millennials. Unlike a sabbatical – which is a period off work granted by your employer – a micro-retirement is an indefinite career break taken to recover from burnout or to discover what you really want to do. “It’s so easy to start adult life down the wrong path,” says Alice Stapleton, a career-change coach. “Micro-retirements create an opportunity to reset and to re-evaluate what you enjoy and where you want to go next.”
While George’s foreign break is now over, his plan doesn’t involve splurging his hard-earned savings in one fell swoop. “It’s not a break from working as a whole but a break from the job that consumes more of your life than it should,” he says. “I still intend to work, just not in a job that I have to care about.”
Multiple friends of mine – my partner included – are in the midst of a career break, and when I ask them if they know of anyone in a similar boat, they can think of several other people, too. So what’s triggered this mass dissatisfaction with work? In the grip of a current malaise across the country, more and more young adults are refusing to accept that the next four to five decades should be consumed by a single job. The solution? Take the plunge and quit.
According to research from Barnett Waddingham, extended career breaks are on the rise among young workers, revealing a shift in long-held career norms. Almost a quarter (22 per cent) of 25 to 34-year-olds have already taken an extended career break, with two-thirds (66 per cent) of 18 to 24-year-olds having already taken extended leave due to illness, related to stress and burnout, in the past five years.
Will, 28, is proud to be one of those statistics: he’s already had two career breaks in the seven years since he graduated. He and his partner, Sophie, are currently renovating an electric van, which they plan to drive around Europe over the next few months after they quit their jobs in renewable energy in London. “Having done the trajectory of going to university, getting a good job, progressing my way up the ladder, I felt it became mundane, and I wanted a tangential thing to sink my teeth into,” Will says. “I was craving living a slower lifestyle.”
But how easy is it to turn a dream of a career break into a reality? Will and Sophie trickle-saved since graduating and have recently moved out of London to live with their respective parents in order to afford the trip. “The fact we could work from home, as well as the fact we both have very accommodating parents, was quite crucial to that,” Sophie says. Their largest upfront cost was the electric van, which was just shy of £14,000. “Sharing that between us was one of the scariest purchases of my life,” she chuckles. “But we hope to recoup that once we sell it in a few years – converted electric vehicles are pretty scarce and we reckon the value will go up after the conversion.”
The micro-retirees hope not to fall into a rinse-and-repeat cycle of spending all their money on their break, then getting a job and starting the cycle again. “We’re thinking about how we can use our skills to move into something more freelance to accommodate this lifestyle,” Sophie says. “We like the idea of continuing to live in this way, but it’s early days, so can’t say for sure. It’s the first time we’ve done this; it might be the last.”
They’re also lucky to have well-paid jobs, she adds. “It’s a compromise – I’m aware of the fact I could be buying a house, and I’m sure many boomers are thinking, ‘What the hell are you doing?’ But I don’t want to spend my life just working and then retiring at 60. It’s better to do it now rather than later.” Sophie does, however, believe she will eventually tire of van life and miss the sense of purpose the 9-to-5 brings. “It’s a grass is greener thing – we’ve just got to flip-flop around to keep our little monkey brains happy.”
Fortunately for Will, he has the safety net of being able to return to his former job should he want to. This isn’t the case for Sophie, and for many other workers who wish to take a career break but feel anxious at the prospect of finding a new job down the line. It certainly takes courage to take that leap, and Sophie is content for now with the lack of security. “I have no idea what I’ll do, and I’m happy with that at the moment,” she says. “I’m definitely not someone who’s got my 10-year plan mapped out.”
Another reason why many of us are scared to quit our jobs is the fear of falling behind and explaining the gap in our CVs to future employers. But Leah Farmer, a life and leadership coach, tells me she’s noticed more employers being less perturbed by gaps since the pandemic. “It’s not as rigid as it once was,” she tells me. “[Covid] shifted a lot of thinking around career paths and life balance. If you can tell a strong and honest story about what you gained from your time away, most forward-thinking employers will see it as a strength, not a weakness. And for those who do not, you probably do not want to work for them anyway.”
Even though there is now more job diversity thanks to the internet, along with less expectation to settle down and start a family, modern life can contain its newfound pressures. The onus on doing what we love – and knowing exactly what that is – on top of being paid a decent enough salary to afford rent, can often feel more burdensome than freeing. This is ultimately what drove Sophie to put aside the fear of quitting and go for it, and luckily for her, the risk has paid off. “I’m happier now in a way I can’t even put into words,” she says.
Leah believes more adults should consider hitting pause on their careers. But for most working to stay afloat – and living in a culture that pushes constant productivity – it’s not as easy as skipping out the office door and into the unknown. It feels too radical, a choice only afforded to the wealthy, lucky or child-free.
Leah assures me a career break is still achievable for those without a huge pile of savings behind them. “It’s more about planning ahead and being honest about what matters most for a season,” she says. “Give yourself six to 12 months to plan and save – even small amounts add up when you have a clear timeline.” She also advises taking on a lighter workload, rather than a total stop. “Shifting to freelance, consulting, or part-time work can create breathing room while still bringing in income. I’ve seen clients do everything from tutoring to pet sitting while on a break. The goal isn’t to hustle, but to support yourself gently.”
Tempted to take heed of a micro-retirement? It can often feel impossible to step outside of the constant momentum that most of us live in, but with planning and a little courage, it’s more possible than it seems. And, as Leah tells me, the reward can be huge. “Time away gives you the chance to remember that you are not just what you do,” she says. “You are a whole human being with dreams, values, and a life beyond your LinkedIn profile.”
Calls for wealth tax as Rich List shows just 350 families have £772bn
Millionaires have called on the government to properly tax the richest people in Britain, after it was revealed that just 350 families hold over £772bn of the nation’s wealth.
Members of the Patriotic Millionaires have urged for a “long overdue” wealth tax to invest in “our much-loved country”, adding that the wealth of the top 350 people could cover the total cost of the UK’s annual healthcare spend three times over.
The call comes after the 2025 Sunday Times Rich List revealed the annual catalogue of Britain’s wealthiest people, with famous figures including Sir Elton John, Andrew Lloyd-Webber and the King all making the list.
Responding to the publication, Julia Davies, an angel investor who sold her stake in backpack and travel bag company Osprey Europe, said: “Once again this year’s rich list shows the phenomenal wealth that is stuck at the top with a whopping £772bn in the hands of a mere 350 people.
“Those wringing their hands about fewer billionaires and the threat of multi-millionaires leaving would be better off focusing on real British problems, like our crumbling NHS, than nursing the niche concerns of the super-rich.
“£772bn, held by just 350 families, would cover the total cost of the UK’s annual healthcare spend three times over. Properly taxing this wealth, to invest in our much-loved country, is long overdue.”
The 37th annual list reveals who are the 350 richest individuals and families in the UK, based on identifiable wealth, including land, property, other assets such as art and racehorses, or significant shares in publicly quoted companies.
At the top was the Hinduja family, who sat in first place for the fourth consecutive year despite a decline in their fortune.
Gopi Hinduja and his family, who are behind the Indian conglomerate Hinduja Group, were recorded as having £35.3bn.
The Hindujas were followed in the list by real estate moguls David and Simon Reuben, who moved up to second after increasing their wealth to £26.9bn.
They were followed by investor Sir Leonard Blavatnik, entrepreneur Sir James Dyson and shipping tycoon Idan Ofer.
Ms Davies, a member of Patriotic Millionaires, added: “Our media and political leaders need to stop focusing on the interests and habits of a small number of people who are hoarding extreme wealth at the expense of us all and instead prioritise the interests of Britain’s true wealth creators, our ordinary hardworking families, small businesses, entrepreneurs, teachers, health and other public-sector workers.
“These people are the backbone of the British economy, many of whom haven’t seen a pay rise in 15 years. Our government should treat the Rich List as the smelling salt it needs, wake up, and tax the super-rich.”
Manchester United part-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe came seventh in the list with a £17bn fortune.
However, the Ineos founder was the biggest faller on the list as he saw his wealth decline by around £6bn for the second consecutive year.
Other notable figures on the list included the King, who saw his personal wealth jump by £30m to £640m in the last year, making him as rich as former prime minister Rishi Sunak and his wife, Akshata Murty.
Charles, who acceded to the throne in 2022, ranks joint 238th in the list, up 20 places from 258th in 2024.
The monarch is £140m richer than David and Victoria Beckham, who are said to be worth £500m, with the former England captain being Britain’s richest sports star.
Meanwhile, the personal wealth of Mr Sunak and Ms Murty dropped £11m from £651m to £640m.
Since leaving Downing Street, the former prime minister has taken a part-time role at Stanford University and signed up to the Washington Speakers Bureau, while Ms Murty has a stake in Infosys, the Indian IT giant co-founded by her billionaire father.
The latest publication revealed a third consecutive slump in the number of billionaires residing in the UK, down to 156 this year from 165 in 2024.
“Our billionaire count is down and the combined wealth of those who feature in our research is falling,” said Robert Watts, compiler of the Rich List.
“We are also finding fewer of the world’s super-rich are coming to live in the UK.”
He said he was also “struck by the strength of criticism for Rachel Reeves’s Treasury” when speaking to wealthy individuals for the publication.
Mr Watts said: “We expected the abolition of non-dom status would anger affluent people from overseas.
“But homegrown young tech entrepreneurs and those running centuries-old family firms are also warning of serious consequences to a range of tax changes unveiled in last October’s Budget.”