Betfred brothers top list of UK’s biggest taxpayers with £400m bill

The UK’s highest taxpayers have been revealed in the 2026 Sunday Times Tax List, with the owners of Betfred, Fred and Peter Done, topping the rankings with a total tax contribution of £400.1 million. This figure is largely attributed to gambling duty from their betting shop business.

Business Leaders and Celebrities Among Top Taxpayers

Tim Martin, founder of the Wetherspoon’s chain, ranks eighth on the list, with a personal tax contribution of just under £200 million. JD Wetherspoon, with 794 venues, paid over £1 million in tax per pub, totaling £837.1 million in levies including corporation tax, business rates, slot machine duty, and VAT. Martin owns 26.7% of the company’s shares.

Did You Know? Harry Styles was the top celebrity taxpayer at No 54, paying £24.7m, largely related to his touring and merchandise firm Erskine Records.

Other prominent figures on the list include Harry Potter author JK Rowling, the Timpson family, tech entrepreneur James Dyson, and Douglas and Iain Anderson of the GAP Group. Financiers Alex Gerko, Chris Rokos, and Peter Hargeaves also feature in the top ten, alongside Mike Ashley of Sports Direct, Tom Morris of Home Bargains, the Perkins family of Specsavers, and Stephen Rubin of JD Sports.

Tax Trends and Residency

The list’s publication coincides with a trend of wealthy individuals relocating from the UK to other countries. Fourteen individuals on the 2026 list are now residents overseas, including Ian and Richard Livingstone, who moved to Monaco last year. The UK’s highest-earning 1% – those with incomes over £219,000 – contribute approximately 26.6% of all UK income tax, a decrease from 30.7% in 2021-22, potentially linked to the freezing of income tax thresholds and the relocation of high earners.

Expert Insight: The movement of high-earning individuals to lower-tax jurisdictions highlights the ongoing tension between national tax policies and the mobility of wealth, potentially impacting the UK’s tax revenue base in the long term.

Despite this trend, Peter Done, 78, stated his commitment to remaining in the UK, emphasizing a sense of obligation to contribute to the country where his wealth was generated.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who topped the 2026 Sunday Times Tax List?

Fred and Peter Done, the owners of Betfred, topped the list with a tax contribution of £400.1 million.

Where do some of the top taxpayers now reside?

Fourteen of the individuals on the list are now resident overseas, with some residing in Jersey, Guernsey, Monaco, Portugal, Cyprus, Dubai, and the US.

How much tax did JD Wetherspoon pay?

JD Wetherspoon paid over £1 million tax per pub, totaling £837.1 million across its 794 venues.

As more individuals and businesses navigate evolving tax landscapes, will these trends continue to shape the UK’s economic future?

Betfred brothers top list of UK’s biggest taxpayers with £400m bill | The super-rich