Hospitality elite make Rich List

Times may be tough, but there's still plenty of money to be made in hotels and restaurants, if the recently published Sunday Times Rich List 2003 is anything to go by.

A good showing from the hospitality industry saw financier Urs Schwarzenbach, owner of the Dolder Grand hotel in Zurich, top the bill as the industry's richest person, with an estimated fortune of £800m. He is placed joint 27th in the overall list of the wealthiest 1,000 people in Britain.

Sir David and Sir Frederick Barclay, who have an interest in London's Ritz hotel, come in at joint 34th place, their combined fortune of £650m putting them ahead of Sir Terry Matthews, owner of the Celtic Manor resort in Gwent, Wales.

Matthews, who topped last year's hospitality table, drops from 24th to 42nd position. Admittedly, he made his fortune of £610m in telecommunications rather than hotels.

Sir Rocco Forte, owner of the RF hotel chain, and Radisson Edwardian's chairman Jasminder Singh both come in the top 100. Forte's £375m puts him in 85th place, while Singh makes joint 89th place with his estimated £350m.

Further industry inclusions are Andrew Brownsword, owner of the Bath Priory hotel and restaurant in Bath, whose £195m puts him in 163rd place, and Robert Earl, founder of the Planet Hollywood burger chain. Earl, joint 316th, is worth £100m.

Sir Terence Conran, founder of Conran Holdings, is in joint 504th position with £68m, while food writer and film maker Michael Winner comes in at number 874.

The UK's wealthiest hoteliers and restaurateurs

Urs Schwarzenbach > Dolder Grand hotel, Zurich £800m Sir David and Sir Frederick Barclay The Ritz, London £650m Sir Terry Matthews Celtic Manor, Gwent £610m Mohamed al Fayed The Ritz, Paris £486m Bernard Lewis Lewis Trust Group, various hotels £380m Sir Rocco Forte and family RF Hotels £375m Jasminder Singh Edwardian Hotels £350m Andrew Brownsword Bath Priory £195m Hugh Osmond Wellington Investments (pubs) £182m Sir Peter Michael The Vineyard, Stockcross £147m Guy Hands Benfica (hotels) £140m Robert Earl Planet Hollywood £100m Bill Rooney Westmorland Golf Resort, Barbados £100m David Shamoon various hotels, Spain £100m Harpal Matharu and family Globalgrange £93m Richard Walduck and family Imperial London Hotels £90m Surinder Arora Arora International, Heathrow £87m David Seymour Pomme D'Or (among others), Jersey £80m Firoz Kassam Heythrop Park, Oxfordshire £76m Brian Stein Maxwell's/Café de Paris £75m Tim Ingram Hill Ingram Hotels £70m Sir Terence Conran Conran Restaurants £68m Alex Langsam Britannia Hotels £62m Tim Martin Wetherspoons £62m Michael Morton Britannia Hotels £62m Lord Daresbury/Greenall family De Vere Hotels £60m Maurice Segal Modern Hotels and Expotel £60m John Marston Marston Hotels £56m Bakir Cola Cola Holdings (various hotels) £55m Diljit Rana Andras House £54m Ken McCulloch Columbus Hotels £45m Satinder Gulhati Edwardian Hotels £44m Philip Kaye ASK Central £43m Tej and Bobby Dhilon Dhilon Hotels, Buckinghamshire £40m Michael Winner food critic and film director £40m Gulshen Bhatia London Plaza Hotels £38m Goran Strok Wren Hotel Group £35m Richard Broyd Historic House Hotels £34m Guiseppe Pecorelli Exclusive Hotels £34m Norman Springford Apex Hotels £21m