About half of these success stories are self-made, often having sprung from humble starts.
That includes Meadowhall developer Paul Sykes and DFS boss Graham Kirkham. And it includes the 40-something bosses of Twinkl, who are the top of the cash pile in Sheffield.
The rich, for our purposes, include those who are working in a business they either started themselves or inherited. We also include those still living in the area who have recently sold their main businesses but retain interests in other ventures.
We valued stakes in quoted companies in September 2024 according to prices prevailing in the Financial Times.
Private companies were valued according to the ratios in their sectors or more generally where a sector rating was not evident, at around ten times their latest profit figures, which in many cases is more conservative than the stock market ratings.
We deduct appropriate sums from dividends and company sales to reflect tax unless we are aware someone is not domiciled in the UK for tax.
Here’s a list of South Yorkshire’s richest people in business.
9. Paul Sykes: £775m
Paul Sykes founded Sheffield's Meadowhall shopping centre with Eddie Healey and the pair went on to sell it for £1.17bn. The son of a Barnsley coalminer, he started out with scrap metal, dismantling old buses and exporting parts to the Far East. By his 40s he had moved into property, developing offices, warehouses and industrial space including in London’s Docklands. He joined forces with the late Eddie Healey to build Sheffield’s Meadowhall shopping centre. | National World/James Hardisty
.jpeg?crop=4:3&trim=&width=800)
10. Carol Healey and family : £886m
The family lost £8 million this year, in comparison to last. Property developer Eddie Healey teamed up with Paul Sykes to build Sheffield’s Meadowhall shopping centre. Healey died four years ago. Son Paul still owns two retail parks. The family’s main investment company, SPH 2011, was wound up a year ago and this entity showed £230.5m of assets when it was dissolved. | NationalWorld
.jpeg?crop=4:3&trim=&width=800)
11. Lord Kirkham and family: £1.14bn
Kirkham maintained his riches this year. Adopted by a miner when he was three weeks old, Graham Kirkham set his sights on becoming an RAF pilot. Failing to get the right O Level grades led him into the furniture world. Before long Kirkham was renting a room above a snooker hall in Carcroft to make his own furniture. Originally called Northern Upholstery, this would be the start of the soft furnishings giant DFS, which he floated on the stock market. | YPN