Britain’s Rich and Powerful – Who are they and where are they from?

Britain is one the wealthiest countries in the world. Responsibility for this wealth comes down to a variety of situational and historical factors. One of the biggest factors though is its people. From driving the growth of global corporations to developing new technologies that have revolutionised the world’s societies, the UK is full of talented and driven individuals who’ve helped make it the 6th largest economy in the world.

So with one the largest proportions of wealthy people in the world, you can’t help but wonder what these rich and powerful people look like. Where were these great entrepreneurs born? Where did Britain’s Billionaires go to school? And what type of education does a British Prime Minister need? To find out, the busy bees at Well Polished HQ have dived into the data. Analysing the birthplace and education of Britain’s rich and powerful we’ve unveiled the paths that have led to their success.

Britain’s Billionaires

As of 2017, Britain has amassed more Billionaires than in any other era in its history. Totalling a record 143 billionaires, up 14 from the previous year, the list covers some celebrity names including travel billionaire Richard Branson and property billionaire Lord Sugar.

Outside of this small selection of billionaires who crave the starlight, the majority of Britain’s billionaires opt to remain unseen and unheard, carrying out their money making ventures under the veil of x or y corporation.

Hidden under such secrecy, you can’t be blamed for wondering what these 143 billionaires look like. Questions like, where were they born? What school did they go to? And what kind of education did they receive will often come to mind.

To find out what Britain’s billionaires look like and what helped put them on the path to such successful careers, we’ve analysed each of Britain’s 143 billionaires finding out where they were born, what schools they attended and what type of education they received.

Key Stats

– 44% of Britain’s billionaires are born outside of the UK

– 47% of Britain’s Billionaires are privately educated

– India (joint with Scotland) is the UK’s second most popular birthplace for British billionaires

Britain’s Entrepreneurs

While not quite as powerful as Britain’s billionaires, entrepreneurs are the driving force behind British employment. Employing a staggering 15 million people in the UK, the success of these small/medium enterprises and the entrepreneurs who create them is vital to the UK economy.

So what do these entrepreneurs look like? What school did they go to? And what kind of education did they receive? Well, while it would be impossible to cover every entrepreneur in the UK, we have been able to analyse the UK’s top 100 influential entrepreneurs in 2017 as voted by CityAm readers.

Key Stats

– 6% of Britain’s most influential entrepreneurs are born outside of the UK

– 56% of Britain’s most influential entrepreneurs are privately educated

– York is second most popular birthplace of Britain’s most influential entrepreneurs

Britain’s Richest Women

Rich and powerful is no longer an exclusive club just for men either. The number of female billionaires rose to 8 this year with British powerhouses like Denis Coates (owner of Bet 365) and Dame Mary Perkins (founder of Specsavers) leading the way as the richest self-made female billionaires in the UK.

So what do these rich women look like? What school did they go to? And what kind of education did they receive? To find out, we have again analysed the richest 100 women in the UK. This is what they look like.

Key Stats

– 51% of Britain’s richest women are born outside of the UK

– 47% of Britain’s richest women are public school educated

– The United States is the most popular birthplace of Britain’s richest women

Britain’s Prime Ministers

In the words of Frank Underwood “Money is the McMansion in Sarasota that starts falling apart after 10 years. Power is the old store building that stands for centuries”.

It’s true too. While millionaires and even billionaires can make their success and possibly even lose it, a Prime Minister will have power for a lifetime – along with the historic significance to go with it.

But what does it take to become a British PM? Where are British Prime Ministers born? And where do British Prime Ministers go to school?

Key Stats

– Only 1 British Prime Minister has been born outside of the UK (Bonar Law – Born Rexton, Canada)

– 82% of British Prime Ministers are privately educated

– Eton College has produced more Prime Minister than any other (18)

Methodology

All statistics that feature in this article have been collaborated using birthplace and schooling data made available on personal Wikipedia pages. The list of British billionaires and Britain’s richest women was compiled by the Sunday Times. The top 100 influential entrepreneurs was compiled by CityAm and the list of Prime Ministers analysed was compiled and recorded by Gov.UK. Some of the Birthplace and Schooling data was missing and could not be sourced. If you would like to access the full and raw dataset please email scott.taylor@reckless.agency or request access via the google document here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/19RHiVJg0C6AgcAs0-IIblb7eSeXGn08o8NK5yJo6vRw/edit#gid=0

Please note that Well-Polished acknowledges that the information included in this article is based on their interpretation of the data presented.