The rise of the British-Asian billionaire

Diane Abbott

Sunday, May 29, 2011

A generation ago, black and brown Britons were amongst the poorest in society. The children of empire, they came here to study or to occupy low-wage, low-status jobs. But the last decade has seen the emergence of a class of British-Asian billionaires. The recent publication of the Sunday Times Rich List marks their continuing ascent.

The first noteworthy thing is that the richest man in Britain is an Asian — Lakshmi Mittal. He is chairman and chief executive of the world's largest steel producer. He and his family live in some splendour in a £57-million mansion in Kensington, a stone's throw from Kensington Palace.

Altogether there are 20 Asian multi-millionaires who feature amongst the top 50 wealthiest families in Britain.

Typically they were born abroad and came to live in Britain as adults. A few made their money here, like Sir Anwar Pervez, worth £550 million. His wealth came via a chain of wholesale grocery stores.

But most came here when they had already made their fortune. They came for the reasons that multi-millionaires from all over the globe gravitate to Britain. It is a uniquely convenient place from which to run a global business with an accumulation of top corporate lawyers, big accountancy firms, international investment banks and financial services. And all these services are clustered within a few miles of each other in the City of London.

London's geographical situation means that you can be in contact with the financial markets of both New York and the Far East, all within the compass of a working day. And no other financial centre offers the wives and daughters of the super-wealthy the schools, the shopping and the elite social distractions.

Most of the Asian top 20 millionaires are industrialists. Typically they are in manufacturing, mining, oil and gas. As their fortune accumulated, some diversified into property and finance, but their core activities are industrial. Many have been aided in their ascent into the class of the super-wealthy by their relationship with government in their country of origin. There is a rising class who are making money in service industries like fashion, hotels and care homes. But they are in the bottom half of the top 20.

Socially they keep a very low profile. You will not read about Asian millionaires or their children frequenting expensive night clubs or involved in sex scandals. They are very family-minded and largely marry into their own community. But their willingness to support their own community members helps them in business. They often use their wealth to finance other family members and the second generation.

There are no African-Caribbean millionaires in the Sunday Times Rich List this year. And every year there are never more than one or two. We have made an impact on this society through politics, music and the arts. However, for sheer capital accumulation, our Asian brothers and sisters far outstrip us.

But this new class of Asian multi-millionaires should be acclaimed. In just one generation they have been able to overturn British assumptions about the role of black and brown people. The children of empire, they have travelled to the heart of the empire and achieved a financial pre-eminence that nobody could have dreamt even a decade ago.