An annual measure of who are the wealthiest Britons shows that while the richest persons enjoy great fortunes, the composition of such a list can and does change significantly from year to year.

The past 12 months have seen the richest Britons lose large chunks of their wealth, according to the annual record of their fortunes by the Sunday Times newspaper.

The Sunday Times Rich List shows that Lakshimi Mittal, who as recently as 2008 boasted a net wealth of £27.7 billion (around $40 billion), has seen that figure contract by around three quarters to £7.12 billion because of the falling fortunes of a steel industry that was central to his business empire. He is now ranked 11th in the list.

The list does not give an overall figure for the decline in wealth of those on the list; it gives figures showing rises and falls in those on the rankings of 1,000 UK persons.

Property and internet tycoons David and Simon Reuben top the list this year with a fortune of £13.1 billion, a gain of £3.4 billion; in second place come Sri and Gopi Hinduja, who make money in industry and finance, with £13 billion (unchanged); followed by investment, music and media businessman Len Blavatnik, at £11.59 billion (down £1.58 billion).

To put the fortunes of such UK figures (many of whom are foreign-born but have acquired UK citizenship/residence and are hence included in the rankings) into global context, the world’s richest are the Walton family, owners of the Walmart retail empire, with wealth of £88.7 billion, followed by entrepreneurs and supporters of political causes the Koch brothers (Charles and David), at £66.5 billion.

As the newspaper itself notes, what the publication of the list demonstrates is that shifts in financial markets can make large alterations to the “paper wealth” of those on the list and that the composition of the list varies considerably from year to year, with substantial numbers of new entrants and departures – a point that to some degree answers those who claim that a tiny minority of super-rich acquire and hold an ever-increasing amount of the global economic pie. Another point to consider is at a time of growing interest, or perhaps obsession, with the affairs of the rich and their tax affairs, the publication of such a list shows how widely available some data is on how much wealth high net worth and ultra HNW individuals actually have.