The ASOS owner and biggest landowner north of the border is now worth £8.5bn, an increase of £2bn from last year, the Sunday Times Rich List 2023 revealed.
However, the total number of billionaires in the UK fell after reaching a record 177 in 2022. It is the first time the number of UK billionaires has fallen in 14 years.
There are 171 billionaires in the UK this year, but their combined wealth increased by a staggering £30.734 billion to £683.856 billion.
Danish retail owner Mr. Holch Povlsen is ranked 17th in the UK. He owns 220,000 acres of land in Scotland, including his home on the shores of Loch Ness, Aldourie Castle.
His wealth comes from the Danes. fashion Bestseller retailer, founded by his father, Troels Holch Povlsen, in 1975.
READ MORE: The Easdale brothers are on Scotland’s billionaires list, but the Danish tycoon remains at the top
While the Danish retailer increased profits to £723m, fast fashion outfit Asos lost £183m over the past year.
Second on the list of Scotland’s rich is the £4.607 million whiskey dynasty of Glenn Gordon and his family.
He runs the liquor company William Grant and Sons and owns Drambuie, Glenfiddich and Grant’s.
The family’s wealth grew by £1.2bn after falling around £200m last year.
North Sea oil magnate Sir Ian Wood and his family also saw their wealth rise by £1 million to £1.82.
The five billionaires who top the 2023 Scottish Rich List have a combined wealth of £18.263m, almost half of which (46%) is held by Holch Povlsen.
READ MORE: Yousaf said to investigate Gilruth’s ‘clear offense of dismissal’ over rail works
However, not all the riches have continued to rise and pharmaceutical giants Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw and John Shaw lost their position in the top five.
Robert Watts, the compiler of the Sunday Times Rich List, said: “This year’s Sunday Times Rich List shows that a golden period for the super-rich is over.
“For the first time in 14 years, we have seen the number of UK billionaires fall.
“Two years ago we raised concerns about a disturbing rise in the fortunes of the very rich that continued unchecked during the political instability around brexit and the pandemic.
“This is not an accident, but there are well-known names that have lost large sums of money in the last year.
“The bursting of the technology bubble, the end of rock-bottom interest rates and the nervousness that is dragging on in the banking industry have taken their toll.
“The super-rich do not exist in a vacuum. Many small investors lost money on some of his exaggerated stock floats. Many people also work for their businesses. The financial losses of billionaires may have implications for all of us.”
Sir Richard Branson’s wealth, for example, has fallen by £1.79bn since last year, largely due to falling share prices in his satellite and space tourism companies.
The five richest people in Scotland:
1. Anders Holch Povlsen (£8.5bn wealth)
2. Glenn Gordon and family (£4.607 million)
3. Sir Ian Wood and family (£1.82 billion)
4. Mohamed Al Fayed and family (Harrods; £1.699bn)
5. Mahdi al-Tajir (Highland Spring; £1.637 billion)