THE man behind Liverpool One saw his personal wealth grow by £250m in the past year, a survey of the UK’s richest people revealed.

The Duke of Westminster, chairman of trustees at property company Grosvenor, is now worth £7bn.

The Chester-based Duke, a former Daily Post businessman of the year, is the North West’s richest person and the third wealthiest in the UK.

John Whittaker, who heads Peel Holdings, owners of the Port of Liverpool and part-owners of Liverpool John Lennon Airport, saw his wealth double over the past year.

The 69-year-old’s fortune rocketed from £1.06bn in 2010 to £2.07bn.

The wealth of the region’s top 10 was £15bn – according to the Sunday Times’ Rich List.

John Hargreaves, 67, founder of the Skelmersdale discount fashion chain Matalan is placed joint 46th in the index have part amassed a £1.3bn fortune.

The chain was refinanced in April last year which led to Hargreaves, who left school at 14, taking a £250m dividend.

Although Hargreaves now lives in Monaco he has not forgotten his roots giving millions of pounds to the NSPCC which named the Hargreaves Centre in Liverpool after him.