Simon Cowell richer by £40 million

The X Factor and American Idol judge, 47, now sits on an estimated wealth of £100 million. From 944th position last year to 700 this year, no other individual from the world of pop has risen up the ranks so much.

The music entrepreneur has overtaken Robbie Williams, 33, in the forthcoming Sunday Times list, which forms the basis of ITV1 show Britain's Rich List.

Pop star Williams, at number 755, has increased his wealth by £5 million despite a spell in rehab and the critical mauling of his latest album, to £95 million this year.

The world's richest footballer, David Beckham, 31, has an extra £25 million, which takes his wealth to £112 million, and is ranked at 619. Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich's divorce settlement with wife Irina has no impact on his Rich List position, remaining at number two with an estimated £10.8 billion.

EasyJet's Stelios Haji-Ioannou, 40, is closing the gap with entrepreneur Richard Branson, 56, having broken the billionaire barrier. Stelios is now worth £1.29 billion and has moved up from 80 to 49th place. Branson has dropped out of the top 10 and has fallen two places to 11 with £3.1 billion assets.

Sir Paul McCartney, whose divorce settlement with Heather Mills is yet to be thrashed out, is currently ranked at 102 with £725 million.

The wealthiest man in Britain, taking first place in the list, is steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal. He has increased his fortune to more than £19 billion - up from last year's £14.9 billion.

The list, presented on ITV1 by Dragons' Den star and businessman Peter Jones, worth £160 million, shows that Britain's super-rich are getting wealthier. It now takes £70 million to even make the 1,000-strong list, compared to £60 million in 2006. The number of billionaires in the annual list will be up by more than 20% against last year's total of 54. It also shows that fewer than 10% of Britain's richest 1,000 are women.

There are 37 music industry professionals on the list but no pop stars under the age of 30, thanks to astute record company contractors. At 33, Angels star Williams is one of the youngest to make the grade. Britain's Rich List is broadcast at 9pm on ITV1 on Thursday night.