Rich list shows millionaires that graduated from the 'university of life'

A rich list published yesterday showed the country's wealthiest self-made millionaires have trebled their fortunes in the past five years.

The top 60 includes Jamie Oliver, Delia Smith, Sir Alex Ferguson, Eric Clapton, Alan Titchmarsh, Billy Connolly and Stella McCartney.

Many left school with no qualifications but went on to show that degrees and academic success are not the only route to riches.

In the past five years the collective value of the wealthiest 25 vocational millionaires has soared from £2.7billion to £9.3billion.

All 60 have personal fortunes of £10million or more, according to the fifth annual vocational rich list published by the City & Guilds awards body.

Most are still involved with the industry where they gained their original qualification and the vast majority are self-made success storiesTo qualify for the list, compiled by money expert Philip Beresford, entrepreneurs must have served an apprenticeship or completed a vocational qualification.

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A third were trained in 'traditional' trades such as joinery, plumbing and bricklaying, and 40 per cent of the total wealth in this year's list can be attributed to tycoons who started out with engineering qualifications.

Topping the list with £1.6billion is John Caudwell, founder of Phones4U who got his first job as an engineering apprentice at the Michelin plant in Stoke-on-Trent in 1970.

He then sold used cars before switching to phones and last year sold the Caudwell Group, which includes the Phones4U chain, to two private equity firms for £1.46billion.

Diamond dealer Laurence Graff, currently second, left school at 13 and within months landed an apprenticeship in the diamond trade.

He now heads Graff Diamonds International and boasts wealth of £1.5billion.

Jamie Oliver's success is no anomaly. According to the index, catering workers get rich fastest – the average age of a vocational millionaire with a catering background is just 42.

At 40,Gordon Ramsay is the wealthiest culinary millionaire with a fortune of £50million.

The list also includes Sir Alex Ferguson and Billy Connolly, both valued at £20million.

They started their working lives as apprentices at the Govan shipyard in Glasgow.

Eric Clapton completed a vocational course in stained glass design before turning to music.

A previous study shows children born in the summer are less likely to go to university, and the wealth index suggests they stand a better chance of business success because those born between May and August make up 12 of the top 25.

If wealth is in a name, parents might want to consider John, Bill or Alan.

The top 60 contains eight Johns, three Bills and three Alan/Allans.

And while traditional rich lists are dominated by tycoons from London and the South East, vocational millionaires are spread around the country.

Eleven of the top 25 hail from Yorkshire, Lancashire, Cumbria and Scotland, with nine from London and the Home Counties.

The list reflects more positively on apprenticeships than a recent Centre for Policy Studies report which claimed high drop-out rates had damaged their credibility.