Preston-born hedge fund billionaire Michael Platt has once again been named as one of the country’s wealthiest people in the Sunday Times Rich List 2024.

Not much is known about the enigmatic 56-year-old’s background, but the owner of investment firm BlueCrest Capital Management is worth an astonishing £12 billion, according to this year’s list.

Mr Platt came second in the North West rankings to Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe. The petrochemical mogul is reported to be worth £23.5bn overall, placing him fourth in the entire Rich List.

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Mr Platt is 12th overall.

Other billionaires with links to Lancashire include the Duke of Westminster, 33-year-old Hugh Grosvenor. He inherited the title upon his father’s death in 2016 and his links to the county are due to the fact that he owns Abbeystead Estate, the sporting and rural estate that covers much of the Forest of Bowland Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty which begins just north of Preston in the Ribble Valley.

The Duke is reported to be worth £10.1bn, placing him third in the North West rankings and 14th overall.

Fifth in the regional list and 39th overall are Blackburn brothers Mohsin and Zuber Issa, who own Asda and the EG Group petrol station empire, which has sites across the county and beyond.

This year their wealth has reportedly dropped by about £50 million to £5bn.

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