London, April 28:

Indian-born steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal on Sunday again topped the list of Britain’s richest with a fortune estimated at 19.25 billion pounds ($38.46 billion).

The Sunday Times Rich List 2007 said that the combined wealth of Mittal and the other richest 999 people amounts to just under 360 billion pounds, up from 301 billion pounds a year ago.

In the decade since Prime Minister Tony Blair came to power promising greater fairness, the wealth of the top 1,000 has risen by 260 per cent, compared to average people whose wealth has increased by 120 per cent, it said.

Having bolstered his position by acquiring Arcelor, the world’s second-largest steel maker behind Mittal Steel, Mittal’s fortune rose sharply from last year’s 14.88 billion pounds, the newspaper said in its annual review.

Arcelor Mittal, as the combined business is known, produces 115 million tonnes of steel a year and accounts for about 10 per cent of the world market.

Following Mittal on the list is Russian entrepreneur and Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, who remained at number two while his fortune also remained the same at an estimated 10.8 billion pounds.

Though he may have suffered only a minor blow from his costly divorce from ex-wife Irina, she is now 452 on the list with 155 million pounds. Many of the billionaires in Britain are foreigners who have chosen to make Britain their home, possibly for tax reasons. Only three of the top 10 were born in Britain.