The Largest Taxpayers in the UK, Letters

 A Russia-born trading tycoon who was named this year as Britain's biggest single taxpayer has seen his personal  fortune almost double, according to a study of plutocrats.

Duty Paid
Ralph Hedley (1848-1913)
Photo Credit: Sunderland Museum and Winter Gardens [CC BY-NC]

The estimated net worth of Alex Gerko has been upgraded by $5 billion to $10.8 billion by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index...

Gerko, who is 43 and lives with his wife, Elena in North London, owns 75 per cent of XTX and was recently named by The Sunday Times as Britain's top taxpayer, paying £487 million in UK taxes last year.

Raised and educated in Moscow, he moved to Britain in 2006, took British citizenship and renounced his Russian citizenship after the invasion of Ukraine...

Gerko toppled Denise Coates of the gambling group Bet365 as Britain's biggest taxpayer, according to Sunday Times research.

"I am very happy to pay a ton of taxes," he has said. He has gone further, supporting proposals for wealth taxes and for a universal basic income, a minimum payment given to everybody by the government.

As a young man he dreamt of winning the Fields Medal, the most coveted award in mathematics. Nowadays he supports a string of charities promoting maths education. XTX has given £80 million to good causes since 2020, it says, including sponsoring the Ukraine International Maths Olympiad team.

Top Taxpayers

1 Alex Gerko, trader, £487.4m

2 Denise, John and Peter Coates, gambling giant Bet365, £460.2m

3 Stephen Rubin and family, owner of Speedo, Kickers and Berghaus, £392.3m

4 Sir Chris Hohn, Hedge-fund, £263m

5 Fred and Peter Done and family, Betfred, £136.8m

6 Mike Ashley, House of Frazer and Sports Direct, £133.5m

7 Tim Martin, JD Wetherspoon pubs, £123.2m

8 Ranjit and Baljinder Boparan, Supermarket supplier, £120.7m

9 Tom Morris and family, discount chain Home Bargains, £112.2m

10 Ian and Richard Livingstone, Luxury Hotels, £104m

(Patrick Hosking, The Times, 2023) 

All too often the cry goes up, when increased taxation on the wealthy is suggested, that they would then leave the country. How refreshing that the Russian-born billionaire is very happy to pay huge amounts in tax and even supports wealth taxes.

Letters

Sir, I was recently fined £150 and had three penalty points added to my licence for driving at 24mph along a section of empty dual carriageway on the Embankment in London. So to read that people who shoplift less than £200 of goods are likely to be fined only £70 was infuriating. Fines have become detached from the severity of the crime. Perhaps I should do a bit of shoplifting myself: I could steal £200 of goods and even if I were caught on camera driving at, say, 22mph during my getaway I would still be  £50 up.

(Joss Walker, Pembury, Kent, The Times, 2023))

Sir, Lorna Rose Treen's joke was OK but the best pun I've heard recently is:

"I've just bought a Van Gogh coffee table. I know it's genuine because it's got a bit of veneer missing."

(Roger Hart, London NW1, The Times, 2023)