Idan Ofer has overtaken John Fredriksen to become the UK’s richest shipowner, according to the latest edition of The Sunday Times Rich List.
The Israeli shipowner’s fortune increased by almost £7bn ($8.9bn) to £14.96bn, making him the sixth-wealthiest person in the UK, up from 22nd the previous year.
Fredriksen’s fortune rose by £4.56bn to £12.87bn, pushing him up to ninth from 19th place.
In the previous year’s list Ofer and Fredriksen were separated by just £300m with fortunes of £8bn and £8.3bn, respectively.
Strong shipping and offshore markets in 2023 helped most of the shipowners on the list post year-on-year increases in their wealth.
While Ofer and Fredriksen were the key beneficiaries of this trend, other shipping people banked more modest increases.
Stefan Sten Olsson, whose father founded Stena, saw his fortune go up by £96m to £1.43bn as he moved from 130th on the list to 118th.
Peter and Anna Margaret Smedvig and family were also beneficiaries of strong markets. Their fortune increased by £300m year on year to £1.18bn, lifting them from 190th place to 148th.
Bhupendra Kansagra and family, who were a new entry on the 2022 list, saw their net worth rise by £180m to £759m, boosting them to 219th from 270th.
In late 2021, the London-based family emerged as co-owners in the Laurent Cadji-run UK shipowner Union Maritime, which sits alongside their extensive holdings in the African oil industry.
However, TradeWinds reported on Monday that Union Maritime’s founding Cadji family has taken a 75% controlling stake in the $2bn-plus fleet of tankers and bulkers, thereby reducing the Kansagra family’s stake to around 25%.
The Logothetis family, whose fortune is tied up in the Libra Group, the parent company of UK-based company Lomar Shipping, increased their fortune by just £5m last year.
This took their net worth to £655m and was enough to push them up seven places from 251st to 244th.
Helene and Marianne Odfjell and family added £70m to their fortune last year, taking them to $640m, up 19 places to 253rd on the list.
Virgin Group supremo and cruise ship owner Sir Richard Branson crept up three places to 74th, adding £10m to his fortune, which is now worth £2.4bn.
The annual review by the broadsheet newspaper seeks to detail the fortunes of the 1,000 wealthiest individuals and families in Britain.
