Branson flies high among Britain's richest dozen

Sir Richard Branson and Bernie Ecclestone are among Britain's elite number of 12 billionaires.

The annual worldwide ranking by business magazine Forbes Global sees the Duke of Westminster coming in at number 45 with £4.6bn.

Mr Ecclestone, 70, is at 182 with £1.8bn and Sir Richard, 50, is at 272 with £1.3 bn.

Others of the elite include Mark Dixon, 42, of office group Regus, with £714m and Kenneth Morrison of the supermarket group, with £1.2bn.

However, compared with the Americans, with a 271 billionaires, Britain has a long way to go.

Bill Gates is the richest man in the world for the seventh year in a row, with £41.9bn, while international financier Warren Buffett comes in at number two.

Wal-Mart, the world's biggest retailer which owns Asda, also spawned a lot of billionaires, with five of the Walton family in the world's richest 11.

But the action does not just take place in the States.

Greece's Stelios Haji-Ioannou, the 34-year-old who founded easyJet, is at number 336 with £1bn.

Other famous international billionaires include Giorgio Armani and Miuccia Prada, of fashion fame, who enter the list for first time.