Northern Ireland's wealthiest people revealed in Sunday Times Rich List...but who is top?

Lady Ballyedmond and her family are the richest people in Northern Ireland, according to this year’s edition of The Sunday Times Rich List.

The owner of Norbrook Pharmaceuticals company in Newry, Lady Ballyedmond (Mary Haughey) climbed from second to first place on the list with a £914million fortune, despite her wealth falling by £136 million from last year.

A former Newry High School pupil, Lady Ballyedmond is ranked 181 on the UK overall list.

Lord Ballyedmond died in a helicopter crash at his English property in 2014, but the business he founded, Norbrook, remains to be one of the world’s leading veterinary pharmaceutical companies.

Meanwhile last year’s winner, Northern Ireland businessman Stephen Fitzpatrick, who is the co-founder of Ovo Energy, fell two places to third with his wealth of £834million - down from £1.378 billion last year.

Second place is Newry-native Martin Naughton and his family, owners of electrical appliance firm Glen Dimplex, with a £850m fortune which, according to the list, hasn’t changed since 2023.

Robert and William Barnett and family, owners of Belfast holding company W&R Barnett, are sitting in fourth place with a wealth of £645m, up by £120m and finally in fifth is Cookstown fuel distributors, Michael Loughran and family of LCC Group with a modist £604m, also up by £104m.

Meanwhile Northern Ireland golfing legend Rory McIlroy has maintained his position as the richest young person in Northern Ireland (under 40), sitting 13th in the UK with a fortune of £225m, up by £25m since last year.

Winning $1.62 million (£1.29 million) at last summer’s Scottish Open, the golfer’s work on the course is thought to have earned him over £65m.

The Belfast-born golfer recently filed for divorce from his wife Erica on the eve of the US PGA Championship at Valhalla. This week he’s trying to secure an overdue fifth major title in the 106th US PGA Championship.

Published today online and in the The Sunday Times Magazine on Sunday, the 76-page special edition also reveals the largest fall in the billionaire count in the guide’s 36-year history, from a peak of 177 in 2022 to 165 this year.

Robert Watts, compiler of the Sunday Times Rich List, said: “This year’s Sunday Times Rich List suggests Britain’s billionaire boom has come to an end.

"Many of our home-grown entrepreneurs have seen their fortunes fall and some of the global super rich who came here are moving away.

“Thousands of British livelihoods rely on the super-rich to some extent. We’ll have to wait and see whether we have now reached peak billionaire, and what that means for our economy.

“These may be harder times to create wealth, but The Sunday Times Rich List continues to unearth entrepreneurs building fortunes in diverse and often surprising ways. This year’s new entries include people who have made money from artificial intelligence and virtual worlds as well as plumbing supplies and teaching aides.

“We know many of our readers find such people — especially those from humbler backgrounds — very inspiring.”

This year’s list of 350 individuals and families together hold combined wealth of £795.361 billion — a sum larger than the annual GDP of Poland. Sir Elton John, Lord Lloyd-Webber and David and Victoria Beckham all appear in the annual survey. The minimum entry for the list of 350 this year is £350 million.

The Sunday Times Rich List 2024: The five wealthiest in Northern Ireland

1 Lady Ballyedmond and family, Pharmaceuticals: Norbrook (2024 Wealth) £914m – down £136m

2 Martin Naughton and family, Household goods: Glen Dimplex (2024 Wealth) £850m – no change

3 Stephen Fitzpatrick, Energy and transport: OVO and Vertical Aerospace (2024 Wealth) £834m – down £544m

4 Robert and William Barnett and family, Food distribution and packaging: W&R Barnett (2024 Wealth) £645m – up £120m

5 Michael Loughran and family, Fuel distribution: LCC (2024 Wealth) £604m – up £104m