Blackburn businessmen, the Issa brothers, are among the richest people in the North West after being featured in the Sunday Times Rich List.

Mohsin and Zuber Issa, who founded the EG Group, are the fifth wealthiest in the North West and their fortune currently stands at £5 billion.

This is despite the billionaire brothers losing around £50 million in the last year, according to The Sunday Times report. Despite this, they have maintained the same ranking as last year.

The brothers have garnered their wealth through fuel distribution and supermarkets.

The brothers founded Euro Garages (later renamed EG Group) in 2001. They later expanded their business portfolio by taking over supermarket giant Asda, and fast food chain Leon.

In 2022, they narrowly missed out on buying convenience store chain McColl's, losing out to Morrisons.

The 76-page special edition of The Sunday Times Magazine reveals the largest fall in the billionaire count in the guide’s 36-year history, from a peak of 177 in 2022 to 165 this year. This year’s list of 350 individuals and families together hold combined wealth of £795.361 billion - a sum larger than the annual GDP of Poland.

Despite Sir Jim Ratcliffe losing over £6 billion this year, he still remains the richest in the North West, with nearly double the wealth of runner up, Michael Platt.

Sir Jim recently ran the London Marathon at the age of 71, proving once again that he is in it for the long run. He grew up on a council estate near Manchester, but didn’t start Ineos until his forties. Early this year, Ratcliffe also secured a 25 percent stake of his childhood football club, Manchester United.  

Robert Watts, compiler of the Sunday Times Rich List, said: “This year’s Sunday Times Rich List suggests Britain’s billionaire boom has come to an end. Many of our home-grown entrepreneurs have seen their fortunes fall and some of the global super-rich who came here are moving away. 

“Thousands of British livelihoods rely on the super-rich to some extent. We’ll have to wait and see whether we have now reached peak billionaire, and what that means for our economy. 

“These may be harder times to create wealth, but The Sunday Times Rich List continues to unearth entrepreneurs building fortunes in diverse and often surprising ways. This year’s new entries include people who have made money from artificial intelligence and virtual worlds as well as plumbing supplies and teaching aides.  

“We know many of our readers find such people — especially those from humbler backgrounds — very inspiring.” 

The Sunday Times Rich List can be viewed online or in the print edition of the newspaper on Sunday, May 19.