Indian tycoon stays top as Britain’s rich get richer

LONDON, April 27, 2008 (AFP) - Indian-born steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal remains the wealthiest person in Britain, The Sunday Times newspaper's 2008 annual Rich List said.

His 27.7 billion pounds (54.9 billion dollars, 35.1 billion euros), up 8.5 billion pounds on last year, keeps him topping the pile for the fourth year running.

And the kingdom's super-rich just keep getting richer, said the respected annual publication.

The top 1,000 multi-millionaires sit on a fortune of 412.8 billion pounds and have added nearly 53 billion pounds to their wealth in the last 12 months.

Britain is home to 75 billionaires -- up from 68 in 2007 -- of whom 40 were born abroad.

Of the top 10, only three were born in Britain.

Mittal is followed by Russian oil tycoon Roman Abramovich (11.

7 billion pounds) and the Duke of Westminster (seven billion pounds), who owns swathes of central London's top properties.

Two new figures on the list feature in the top 10.

Steel and mines magnate Alisher Usmanov comes in at number five with 5.

8 billion pounds, one place ahead of pharmaceuticals couple Ernesto and Kirsty Bertarelli. The former Miss UK winner and her husband sit