CYPRIOT born tycoon Stelios Haji-Ioannou has been named Britain’s fastest growing millionaire, following the flotation of his no-frills airline easyJet on the London Stock Exchange last November.
According to The Sunday Times’ rich list, 34-year-old Haji-Ioannou’s fortune has grown at an average annual rate of £145.5 million since its start up in 1995 – head and shoulders above second contender, businessman Mark Dixon whose services empire grew at an average rate of £116.7 million a year.
Haji-Ioannou and family added £373 million to their wealth last year – the 12th largest increase on the rich list – and with a transport and Internet empire worth £873 million fortune – he is now the 26th richest man in Britain.
The son of Greek shipping magnate, Loucas Haji-Ioannou, Stelios launched his budget airline in 1995, on the back of a £5 million loan from his father.
In six years, easyJet has transformed air travel in Britain and Europe. Thanks to soaring share prices on the Footsie, the Sunday Times calculates the easyJet holding is now worth £748 million.
Haji-Ioannou’s chain of Internet cafés, easyEverything, was valued at £100 million in 1999. A separate flotation is imminent.
His other franchises easyRentacar, (also being groomed for the stock market) the online bank easyMoney, the free e-mail service easy.com and easyValue, which sells CDs, books and insurance over the Internet, are worth £50 million.
The survey did not include the family’s shipping interests in its calculations.
Speaking about his drive to succeed, he said: “Nobody wants to be known as. the stupid idiot, spoilt brat from Greece who’s spending his father’s money playing with aeroplanes. Making money is what you should be doing.”
Otherwise the Cypriot-born Joseph brothers, also made the list, but down at number 562.
Costas, 61, and Chris, 65, built up a £70 million fortune from property and hotel investments in Britain and Cyprus, after emigrating to the UK in the 1960s.
They own the Palm Beach hotel in Larnaca Bay, worth £25 million. Their London-based Desilu Group has net assets of £25 million. Other wealth adds an extra £10 million.
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