Britain’s biggest taxpayers revealed as one billionaire pays £340m while Ed Sheeran and rock band Queen make top 100
BRITAIN’S biggest taxpayers have been revealed in a star-studded top-100 list featuring Ed Sheeran and the rock band Queen.
The fattest tax bill in the country this year was delivered to a billionaire who was charged an eye-watering £340 million, according to the Sunday Times Tax List.
Sir Chris Hohn, Rishi Sunak‘s former boss, topped the ranking of individuals and their families – who all paid at least £10 million to HMRC.
Born the son of a Jamaican car mechanic, Hohn battled his way to the top to become an uber-wealthy hedge fund manager worth almost £8 billion.
New entries onto the list for 2025 include the green energy entrepreneur Dalce Vince, the UK’s largest pillow manufacturer and a Swansea-based car dealer.
Also amongst the new arrivals are a couple who became billionaires overnight, the owner of Stockport County Football Club, the school-flunking founder of CV Library and rock music legends Queen.
Spots two and three are both occupied by the families behind behemoth bookies.
Fred and Peter Done, the sons of an illegal bookmaker who turned the family business legit with their chain Betfred, shelled out £274 million.
Denise Coates, Britain’s richest self-made woman, co-launched Bet365 from a Stoke car park alongside dad Peter and brother John.
The family coughed up £265 million in tax last year.
Also placing in the top 10 is Sir Tim Martin, who founded the pub chain JD Wetherspoon, Sports Direct tycoon Mike Ashley.
Sir James Dyson is the fifth richest person in Britain, with a £21 billion fortune, and the wealthiest person to make the tax list.
He comes in at number 15, paying £103 million to HMRC.
The King’s godson, Hugh Grosvenor, The Duke of Westminster, lands at 22 with a £57 million bill.
Other celebs on the ranking include JK Rowling, who paid £47 million, Ed Sheeran with £20 million and the rock band Queen in 92nd place with £12 million tax.
This year there were 15 individuals or families who forked out more than £100 million on tax – up from 9 in 2024.
The smallest bill on the list, £10.5 million, was £500,000 more than last year – demonstrating a major tax hike.
Predictably, London was the area to host the highest number of people listed, but there was also a fair spread around the country.
Twenty-one were London-based, 11 were from the southeast of England, 14 from the Midlands, 13 from the north-west, nine from Scotland, eight from the southwest and five entries from Wales.