Gambling entrepreneurs feature in 2021 Sunday Times Rich List

The Coates family, comprising Bet365 co-chief executives Denise and John, and their father and company chair Peter, ranked the highest of gambling businesspeople, placing 17th on the overall list and top among figures in the gambling industry. The Coates family’s wealth was estimated at £8.45bn (€9.83bn/$12.00bn), an increase of £1.28bn from the 2020 edition.

The family have led bet365 since launching the business in 2000 and were this year also named as the UK’s biggest taxpayers, having paid £573.0m during the most recent full financial year.

Meanwhile, Ian and Richard Livingstone, major shareholders in Evolution, were the next highest-ranked names from the gambling sector on the Sunday Times Rich List, placing 27th overall with £6.10bn in wealth, an increase of £2.20bn on last year.

A number of other industry founders saw their place in the rankings fall, including Playtech founder Teddy Sagi, who fell six places to 44th, though his fortune increased by £166m to £3.84bn.

Mark Scheinberg, the son of PokerStars Isai Scheinberg, ranked 49th, down from 44th in 2020 after his wealth declined £36.0m to £3.52bn.

Peter and Fred Done, who run the Betfred bookmaker brand, fell from 123rd to 137th despite their wealth climbing £35.0m to £1.24bn.

Ruth Parasol, the founder of the PartyGaming brand that merged with Bwin Interactive in 2010, was the only other UK-based gambling businessperson to feature in the top 250 by placing 208th, down from 181st in 2020 despite her wealth remaining at £780.0m.