Much may be said of its parlous public finances, but the UK’s ultra high net worth population would seem to be in robust health after growing by an average of one member a day over the last year, new figures fromWealth-X show.

Taking $30 million as its threshold, Wealth-X estimates that the UK is home to 10,760 UHNW individuals, who are worth a combined $1.3 trillion. But perhaps the “headline” figure from the study is that 31 per cent of the UK’s UHNW population is considered non-domiciled; as might be expected, non-resident Indians and Middle Eastern individuals represent a significant proportion of these.

The firm also looked at the wealth of the top 15 individuals in the UK and the prevalence of non-doms was even more pronounced here, with two-thirds being non-domiciled.

In at the top spot with a net worth of $16.4 billion is Alisher Burkhanovich Usmanov, the Russian oligarch and Arsenal Football Club shareholder. He replaced Lakshmi Niwas Mittal, the Indian steel magnate, who slipped to number two, with a net worth of $15.8 billion, due to the waning stock price of his company ArcelorMittal. Third was Roman Abramovich, another Russian oligarch and owner of Chelsea Football Club, whose personal fortune now stands at an estimated $12.1 billion.

Broadly, the “old money” contingent is conspicuous in its absence from the list of the UK’s super-wealthy, but inherited wealth was represented by Gerald Cavendish Grosvenor at number four in the rankings ($11.1 billion net worth). The sixth Duke of Westminster, Grosvenor traces his family wealth back to large holdings of prime London land dating back to the seventeenth century.

Also conspicuous in their absence from the list are women, but one female did manage to nudge just onto the list. In at number ten is Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken, whose net worth is estimated at $6.9 billion. Carvalho-Heineken is of course heiress to the Dutch Heineken brewing empire.

“The fact that the top 15 are mostly non-domiciled UHNW individuals with diverse nationalities and backgrounds, reflects the attraction the UK holds for the ultra affluent, who are increasingly global in their outlook and lifestyle,” said Mykolas Rambus, chief executive of Wealth-X.

“The growing trend of the ultra wealthy choosing to establish residences in the most cosmopolitan cities around the world has implications for all professionals operating in the financial services and luxury sectors.”

The ultra wealth have always been a particularly cosmopolitan client segment, living and managing their affairs internationally as they do. This of course adds to the complexity of serving these clients on a strictly wealth management basis, but also in the provision of concierge-type services. One interesting trend in Asia-Pacific is the proliferation of firms helping the wealthy to gain admittance to the world’s best universities and schools for their children. To read a WealthBriefingAsia article on this subject click here.