SCOTLAND’S richest can thank Tunnock’s teacakes and Irn-Bru for their astronomical rise in wealth.
New analysis has revealed that growth in the worth of Scottish Rich List millionaires is more than double the rate of the rest of the UK.
The combined wealth of the 100 richest people in Scotland has risen from £25.083bn to £28.346bn over the last 12 months, up 13%.
The average increase of the UK’s wealthiest 1000’s worth lags far behind at 5.4%.
This year it took £75m to join the ranks of Scotland’s richest 100, and amongst the new members of the super-exclusive club is the 82 year old biscuit maker Boyd Tunnock.
The worldwide appetite for Tunnock’s teacakes has rustled up a fortune for the family, who are now worth £75m.
Scotland can also thank whisky distillers and the producers of Irn-Bru for its growing wealth.
Leonard Russell, 53, made the list with £75m on the back of Ian Macleod Distillers, a family business which owns brands including Glengoyne and Isle of Skye.
When the Rich List was first compiled in 1998 Robin Barr and his family, with their stake in AG Barr Soft Drinks, was worth £15m.
But thanks to the success of Irn-Bru and other products, their wealth has increased 13 times over to £197m, putting them 28th on the list.
The MacKinnon family also returned to the list with £100m, after selling their Edinburgh-based Drambuie business to William Grant and Sons.
The Banffshire Grant Gordon family, owners of William Grant and Sons, top the list with a total worth of £2.15bn.
William Grant and Sons own the Famous Grouse, Glenfiddich and Monkey Shoulder brands.
Other Scottish icons also made the cut, with Edinburgh-born Sean Connery weighing in with £80m.
But the list presented some bad news for Scottish musicians, with Dire Straits singer Mark Knopfler and international DJ Calvin Harris falling short of the exclusive top 100.
Glasgow-born Knopfler’s and Dumfries-born Harris’ equal worth of £70m meant they did not make it this year, although with his fortune more than doubling in the last year alone, Harris is tipped as a favourite for the next list.
