1: Duke of Westminster £6bn.

NOT only is the 57-year- old Duke top of the list, his wealth is comparable to the total of the other 49 entries in the top 50.

He is the third-richest in the country, behind steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal and Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich, a position which he is unlikely to relinquish despite the turmoil in the property market.

His empire is centred on his estate outside Chester and features huge swathes of property from the swankiest parts of London’s West End to Scotland and Canada.

But recently the Duke’s international property company Grosvenor, which built the £1bn Liverpool One complex, has been engaged in debt refinancing talks in order not to breach its banking covenants. That must be a new experience.

Although the group’s property assets had been valued at £12.9bn, plummeting property prices will have significantly reduced this.

However, the Duke’s wealth is founded on the central London landholding which has been in his family since the 17th century, and his company delivers projects like Liverpool One which can take more than a decade from delivery to conception, so a little light turbulence in year-to- year values will not concern him.

Regardless, the Daily Post’s business person of the year’s estimated personal wealth of £6bn should help keep the wolf from the door.