Sir Chris Hohn, founder of the Children’s Investment Fund Management and one of the UK’s wealthiest hedge fund managers, has topped the list of Britain’s highest taxpayers this year, contributing over £339m in just 12 months, as per the Sunday Times Tax list.
The annual study by The Sunday Times revealed that the top 100 wealthy individuals on the list were liable for a combined £5bn of UK tax last year, as reported by City AM.
Despite a record fifteen individuals paying £100m or more in tax, this year’s total was a seven per cent drop from 2024’s list. Stephen Rubin, founder of Pentland Group, which owns Canterbury and Speedo, ranked fourth, while Mark O’Hare, founder of Preqin, paid the fifth-highest tax after selling his investment data platform to Blackrock for £2bn in July.
Notable new entries for 2025 included Dale Vince, the founder of Ecotricity, who despite leaving school with only a few Es and Fs at GCSE, has become one of the UK’s most recognisable entrepreneurs.
Forest Green Rovers chairman Dale Vince (Image: PA Wire)Robert Watts, who compiled the list, commented: “This year’s Tax List poses further questions for Rachel Reeves and her Treasury team. We found our 100 biggest taxpayers together contributed 7% less than in 2024. ” He added: “This was largely because many companies owned by the super rich performed less well while the economy was sluggish.”
“Less than half of the people in our 2025 Tax List were found to be contributing more in this year’s rankings.”
Alex Gerko, billionaire founder of XTX Markets, ranked sixth in terms of tax payments to the UK Treasury. The top 10 also included notable business figures such as Mike Ashley of Frasers, Sir Tim Martin of Wetherspoons, the Weston Family of AB Foods, and Tom Morris, founder of Home Bargains, who each paid between £149m and £202m in taxes.
The rankings take into account various taxes, including corporation tax, dividend tax, capital gains, and income tax, as well as certain gambling and alcohol duties. Singer Ed Sheeran, 33, was the youngest individual on the list, contributing £19.9m to the Exchequer in 2024.
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