The Sunday Times Rich List for 2025 has revealed that several prominent art collectors have experienced significant changes in their wealth over the past year. Ukrainian-born businessman and art patron Leonard Blavatnik saw his net worth drop by more than £3.5 billion ($470 billion), causing him to fall to the third spot on the list with a valuation of £25.725 billion ($34.4 billion). Blavatnik, who made his fortune through strategic investments in aluminum and energy companies following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, has been a major contributor to the art world.
In 2017, he donated £50 million to Tate Modern for the museum’s new extension, which was subsequently named the Blavatnik Building.
2025 art collectors’ rankings
Other notable art collectors featured in the rich list include British industrial designer James Dyson, whose fortune is estimated at £20.8 billion, placing him fourth, and Israeli businessman Idan Ofer, who ranks fifth with £20.1 billion and saw one of the largest increases in wealth over the past year.
The list also includes Russian oligarch Viatcheslav Moshe Kantor (£7.7 billion, #24), British hedge fund manager Alan Howard (£2.5 billion, #71), and Bahraini-Emirati businessman Mohammed Mahdi al-Tajir (£1.6 billion, #103). Lakshmi Mittal, who has made substantial contributions to the art world, including the £19.2 million funding of the Anish Kapoor-designed ArcelorMittal Orbit tower in 2012, also appears on the list. Federal Election Commission data revealed that Leonard Blavatnik donated $293,588 to Republican candidates, parties, and Super PACs for the 2024 election, alongside $82,700 to Democratic counterparts during the same period.
The 2025 edition of the Sunday Times Rich List was particularly challenging to compile, with contributors highlighting an overall reduction in the number of UK billionaires—a trend attributed partly to economic conditions and policy changes.
