Understanding Needed Due To The Complexities Of The Financial World

With The Sunday Times ready to publish its 2016 Rich List this weekend, leading lawyers from Irwin Mitchell Private Wealth say the financial affairs of wealthy people have never come under more scrutiny. 

The Rich List is the definitive guide to the 1,000 wealthiest people in Britain, and takes an in-depth look at the 50 richest aged under 30, music and fashion millionaires and the world’s wealthiest billionaires.

Earlier this week Adele was revealed to be Britain’s wealthiest female musician with a fortune of £85m. 

Ahead of the announcement, further names have been revealed including the Salford-born Done brothers, who own Betfred, and have seen their wealth rise by £300m to £1.3bn.

Their fortune is dwarfed by the Duke of Westminster, worth £9.35bn, an increase of £790m on last year, and tops the list for the north west of England.

The Rich List is not limited to British citizens and it includes individuals and families born overseas but who predominantly work and live in Britain. 

The editors estimate subjects' wealth from a range of public information, based on values in January of the same year. 

The Guardian reported last year that the collective wealth of Britain’s 1,000 richest people had more than doubled in the last 10 years with a combined fortune of just over £547bn. 

With a fortune of £100m now required to qualify for the list, tax specialist Andrew Watters, partner at Irwin Mitchell Private Wealth believes that the increase in scrutiny means the need for expert knowledge, advice and awareness has never been greater.

“The circumstances of everyone on the Rich List are very different but they all have one thing in common; they live in a world where the spotlight is being shone on wealthy people in a way never seen before.

“The financial world has never been more complex and they have never been more exposed to public and regulatory scrutiny. 

“The tax rules that affect wealthy people, whether it relates to cross-border transactions, pensions or property acquisition are continually changing and ever more complex.

“This makes it harder to avoid falling foul of changes to tax and disclosure rules.”

You can find out more about Irwin Mitchell’s private wealth service here.