Business books of the year

Business books of the year

Fascinating glimpse into history
The Richest of the Rich: The Wealthiest 250 People in Britain since 1066
By Philip Beresford and William D Rubinstein
Harriman House in association with the Social Affairs Unit, £12.99

Allister Heath

This is a superb book: the first comprehensive and rigorous study of Britain’s richest people throughout history, from the time of William the Conqueror to the present. The authors are Britain’s two leading experts on the subject; their findings fascinating. To be able to compare people’s wealth over time, and adjust for inflation, purchasing power and drastically different levels of wealth, Philip Beresford and William D Rubinstein followed a simple yet powerful formula. They took individuals’ share of the net national income during the time in which they lived and expressed it in today’s terms as a percentage of Britain’s £1.1 trillion or so gross domestic product.

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