Michael Platt from Preston has been crowned the youngest billionaire in the UK with the highest net worth

A Preston man has been crowned the youngest billionaire in the UK with the highest net worth. 55-year-old Michael Platt, born and raised in the city, has been crowned the youngest billionaire in the UK with the highest net worth in the top 10 after amassing an estimated £12.7bn fortune. 

The net worth of the world’s wealthiest individuals–most of which is tied up in equities–is forecast by analysts to continue falling. The planet’s billionaires are now worth $12.2 trillion, down $500 billion from $12.7 trillion in March 2022.1 

However, the age of these billionaires is also declining—with the average age dropping by 11 years since 2014, from 58 to 47.

With this in mind, City Index took to Forbes to establish the number of billionaires across the globe, broken down by age, sector and wealth, to determine the youngest billionaires in each country.

• Gymshark’s CEO Ben Francis is the UK’s youngest billionaire, aged 31 and worth £1.03 billion
• Hedge fund manager, Michael Platt, has the highest net worth out of the top ten youngest UK billionaires at £12.66 billion (aged 55)
• 12 out of the 13 of UK’s top 10 youngest billionaires are male, with just Denise Coates making it as the only female on the top 10 list
• £4.23 billion is the average net worth of a female UK billionaire, 27.5% more than male UK billionaires (£3.21 billion)

The UK's youngest bllionaire is Ben Francis, the CEO of clothing brand Gymshark. 

City Index says Ben Francis is the UK’s youngest billionaire, aged 31 years old. CEO of fitness clothing brand, Gymshark, Francis is worth £1.02 billion and is the 2187th richest billionaire in the world, according to Forbes. 

Francis co-founded Gymshark in 2012 with Lewis Morgan (aged 20) whilst studying at Aston University together, where they began screen-printing and selling fitness clothing in his parents’ garage. The company’s breakthrough came when Francis started sharing his fitness journey on social media platforms—particularly on YouTube and Instagram, which he continues to do with his wife Robin. Forbes estimates that Francis' 70% stake in Gymshark is now worth $1.2 billion, averaging sales of over $1 million per day on their US site alone.3-5 

Revolut founder Nikolay Storonsky, aged 39 is the second youngest male UK billionaire. Storonsky launched Revolut when he was 31 years old in 2015 with co-founder Vlad Yatsenko, aged 33. The neobank and finance tech startup has garnered huge success by offering a wide range of financial services. Revolut is estimated to be worth £26 billion.6 Storonsky himself has an estimated net worth of £2.6 billion and ranks 928th on Forbes’ billionaire index.

And Lancashire's Michael Platt has the highest net worth on the list at £12.6 billion and ranked 110th on the Forbes’ billionaire index. Platt, aged 55, is a British hedge fund manager and co-founder of BlueCrest Capital Management. Over the past 23 years, the fund has grown to more than $60 billion in assets under management. Platt is renowned for his successes in the finance industry, particularly in the field of quantitative trading.

The research also showed female UK billionaires are younger and richer, on average, than males. 

The average age of female billionaires in the UK is 66.5 compared to 68 for males. Female billionaires in the UK have an average net worth of £4.24bn, which is £1.03bn more than the average net worth of males. 

Denise Coates, aged 55, has the second highest net worth on the list at £6.2 billion. Although she is the only female UK billionaire to make the top 10, ranking 294th on Forbes’ billionaire index. Coates largely made her wealth as the founder of online gambling site Bet365, currently valued at $3.3 billion and one of the world's largest online gambling companies. Coates owns around half of the privately held Bet365, which facilitates more than $65 billion in bets per year.