List of British politicians by wealth at death
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Wealth at death of British politicians: based on probate.
Contents |
[edit] About the tables
Based on probated wills after the death of the politician. Please note that land is not always included, reducing the figure for some landowners to a small fraction of their actual wealth. Also, many wealthy individuals transferred wealth to descendants before their deaths as this was a means of avoiding death duty from its introduction in the late 19th century through most of the 20th century. Thus these figures cannot be taken as a full picture of the politicians' wealth in their lifetimes or at their death and should not be quoted as such. The advent of punishing death duties caused many landed families to become steadily poorer as the century progressed.
Because of inflation, amounts left at earlier times are worth a lot more. This is especially true after Britain went off the gold standard during the Great Depression. Post World War II heavy taxes, inflation and slower economic growth reduced the value of the pound even more. As an example, when Winston Churchill resumed writing after World War II. he faced a tax of 97.5% on his earned income.
Year refers to the year the will was probated ( usually within a few months of death).
In some cases, like Henry Chaplin, persons who were quite wealthy early in life were in reduced circumstances at time of death. Others, like Lord Beaverbrook, gave away most of their estates to charity before death. Follow the links to brief biographies of the persons listed.
To provide a sense of scale, several noted British or colonial persons who are not politicians are included. They are identified with an asterisk*.
[edit] Politicians and public figures active in Victorian times
| Person | Estate value in pounds | Year of probate | Inflation-adjusted estate value in pounds in 2004 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sir Ernest Cassel* | 6,000,000 | 1921 | 170,000,000 | Merchant banker |
| Cecil Rhodes | 5,000,000 | 1902 | 350,000,000 | Prime Minister of the Cape Colony and mining magnate |
| William Henry Smith | 1,773,388 | 1892 | 125,877,000 | Cabinet Minister and newsagent (founder of W H Smith) |
| George Stephen, 1st Baron Mount Stephen* | 1,414,319 | 1922 | 50,017,000 | Canadian Pacific Railway and banking |
| Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery | 1,396,577 | 1929 | 55,006,000 | Prime Minister and Scottish landowner |
| Spencer Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire | 1,164,960 | 1908 | 78,811,000 | Cabinet minister and landowner: 198,572 acres (803.6 km²) in England and Ireland in 1880 |
| Sir Charles Seely, 1st Baronet | 1,052,070 | 1915 | 54,598,000 | MP and landowner |
| William Lowther, 2nd Earl of Lonsdale | ~700,000 | 1872 | 41,000,000 | Cabinet minister and landowner: 67,457 acres (273.0 km²) in 1872 |
| John Poyntz Spencer, 5th Earl Spencer | 642,454 | 1910 | 42,471,000 | Landowner and cabinet minister |
| George Otto Trevelyan | 556,933 | 1928 | 21,734,000 | Cabinet minister and landowner, especially in Northumberland |
| Charles Stewart Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 6th Marquess of Londonderry | 501,623 | 1916 | 22,031,000 | Cabinet Minister and landowner: 50,323 acres (203.6 km²) in Ireland, England and Wales in 1880 |
| Walter Francis Montagu-Douglas-Scott, 5th Duke of Buccleuch | 475,050 | 1884 | 32,070,000 | minor office holder and landowner: 460,108 acres (1862.0 km²) in Scotland and England in 1880 |
| Donald Alexander Smith, 1st Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal | 421,655 | 1914 | 32,070,000 | Canadian railroad magnate; Canadian High Commissioner in London |
| George Nathaniel Curzon | 354,894 | 1925 | 26,216,000 | Viceroy of India, important Cabinet Minister and landowner: 9,929 acres (40.2 km²) in England in 1900; married an American heiress |
| Charles Henry Gordon-Lennox, 6th Duke of Richmond | 353,573 | 1904 | 24,679,000 | Minor cabinet minister and landowner: 80,000 acres (320 km²) in England and Ireland in 1880 |
| Henry Howard Molyneux Herbert, 4th Earl of Carnarvon | 328,809 | 1892 | 23,154,000 | Secretary of State for the Colonies and landowner |
| Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury | 310,336 | 1903 | 21,591,000 | Prime Minister and landowner |
| Gathorne Gathorne-Hardy, 1st Earl of Cranbrook | 274,098 | 1906 | 19,090,000 | Senior cabinet minister and landowner |
| Henry Matthews, 1st Viscount Llandaff | 259,749 | 1913 | 16,553,000 | Cabinet minister, lawyer and landowner |
| John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley | 253,313 | 1902 | 17,818,000 | Longtime Liberal cabinet minister; 10,000 acres (40 km²) in Norfolk, some property in Cornwall |
| Thomas George Baring, 1st Earl of Northbrook | 246,698 | 1904 | 17,220,000 | Official from banking family, landowner |
| Victor Alexander Bruce, 9th Earl of Elgin | 212,494 | 1917 | 7,712,000 | Cabinet minister and Scottish landowner; 2,895 acres (11.7 km²) in 1894 |
| Edward Marjoribanks, 2nd Baron Tweedmouth | 204,975 | 1909 | 13,837,000 | Cabinet minister and Northern England landowner |
| Sir William Vernon Harcourt | 190,240 | 1904 | 13,279,000 | Senior Cabinet minister and landowner |
| Dudley Francis Stuart Ryder, 3rd Earl of Harrowby | 183,848 | 1901 | 12,932,000 | Minor Cabinet minister and landowner |
| Sidney Herbert | 160,000 | 1861 | 9,700,000 | Senior Cabinet minister |
| Hugh McCalmont Cairns, 1st Earl Cairns | 148,168 | 1885 | 10,365,000 | Lord Chancellor and lawyer |
| George Joachim Goschen, 1st Viscount Goschen | 141,568 | 1907 | 9,701,000 | Senior Cabinet minister from a banking family |
| Joseph Chamberlain | 126,019 | 1914 | 7,835,000 | Secretary of State for the Colonies and Birmingham businessman |
| George Frederick Samuel Robinson, 1st Marquess of Ripon | 125,574 | 1909 | 8,477,000 | Viceroy of India, Cabinet minister and landowner: 21,770 acres (88.1 km²) in England in 1880 |
| Lord Palmerston | 120,000 | 1865 | 7,600,000 | Prime Minister and landowner |
| Charles Thomson Ritchie | 116,245 | 1906 | 8,096,000 | Conservative cabinet minister from a Scottish jute merchant family |
| Richard Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville, 3rd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos | 115,316 | 1890 | 8,220,000 | Landowner and cabinet minister |
| Henry Thurston Holland, 1st Viscount Knutsford | 112,217 | 1914 | 6,977,000 | Secretary of State for the Colonies and landowner |
| William Wood, 1st Baron Hatherley | 105,247 | 1883 | 6,865,000 | Lord Chancellor and successful lawyer |
| John Manners, 7th Duke of Rutland | 99,596 | 1906 | 6,937,000 | Minor Cabinet minister and landowner; 70,137 acres (283.8 km²) in England in 1880 |
| Algernon Percy, 6th Duke of Northumberland | 96,833 | 1902 | 6,744,000 | Minor Cabinet minister and landowner; 186,379 acres (754.2 km²) in England in 1880 |
| Henry Hartley Fowler, 1st Lord Wolverhampton | 93,697 | 1911 | 6,181,000 | Liberal Cabinet minister; Methodist solicitor who married into money |
| Austen Henry Layard | 92,464 | 1894 | 6,820,000 | Minor Cabinet minister, excavator of Nineveh, traveller, art collector |
| James Harris, 3rd Earl of Malmesbury | 91,762 | 1889 | 6,571,000 | Diplomat and senior Cabinet minister |
| Richard Assheton Cross, 1st Viscount Cross | 91,617 | 1914 | 5,696,000 | Conservative Cabinet minister |
| George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen | 90,212 | 1861 | 5,469,000 | Prime Minister and landowner |
| Schomberg Henry Kerr, 9th Marquess of Lothian | 88,084 | 1900 | 6,175,000 | Scottish landowner and Secretary for Scotland |
| John Bright | 86,289 | 1890 | 6,151,000 | Liberal statesman and Cabinet minister |
| Benjamin Disraeli | 84,019 | 1882 | 5,480,000 | Prime Minister |
| Sir William Hart Dyke | 79,112 | 1931 | 3,698,000 | |
| Arthur Balfour | 76,433 | 1930 | 3,130,000 | Prime Minister from a wealthy Scottish family |
| Lord Randolph Churchill | 75,971 | 1895 | 5,682,000 | Son of the 7th Duke of Marlborough, Cabinet minister and father of Winston Churchill |
| Henry Austin Bruce, 1st Baron Aberdare | 74,408 | 1896 | 5,579,000 | Home Secretary and Lord President of the Council |
| George Eden, 1st Earl of Auckland | 70,000 | 1849 | 5,000,000 | First Lord of the Admiralty and Governor-General of India |
| William Ewart Gladstone | 59,506 | 1898 | 4,295,000 | Prime Minister and landowner |
| Sir Charles Wood | 55,478 | 1886 | 3,915,000 | Yorkshire landowner |
| Edward Cardwell | 55,431 | 1887 | 3,992,000 | Senior Cabinet minister |
| Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman | 54,908 | 1908 | 3,715,000 | Prime Minister from a Scottish business family |
| Lord George Hamilton | 53,568 | 1927 | 2,071,000 | Senior cabinet minister, son of the 1st Duke of Abercorn |
| Alexander Hugh Bruce, 6th Lord Balfour of Burleigh | 49,308 | 1921 | 1,417,000 | Scottish landowner; 2,715 acres (11.0 km²) in 1920 |
| Chichester Fortescue | 41,808 | 1898 | 3,017,000 | Liberal Cabinet minister |
| James Bryce, 1st Viscount Bryce | 36,205 | 1922 | 1,280,000 | Diplomat and essayist |
| Sir James Graham | 35,000 | 1861 | 2,100,000 | Senior Cabinet Minister |
| Michael Hicks Beach, 1st Earl St Aldwyn | 34,859 | 1921 | 1,002,000 | Senior Cabinet minister and English landowner |
| Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville | 33,283 | 1891 | 2,354,000 | Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs |
| Spencer Walpole | 38,664 | 1898 | 2,790,000 | Civil servant and historian |
| Hardinge Giffard, 1st Earl of Halsbury | 25,009 | 1922 | 884,000 | Lawyer and judge, Lord Chancellor |
| Stafford Northcote, 1st Earl of Iddesleigh | 24,717 | 1887 | 1,780,000 | Senior Cabinet minister |
| Gerald Balfour, 2nd Earl of Balfour | 23,369 | 1945 | 653,000 | Cabinet Minister |
| Hugh Culling Eardley Childers | 21,912 | 1896 | 1,643,000 | Australian and British Liberal statesman |
| Aretas Akers-Douglas, 1st Viscount Chilston | 21,841 | 1926 | 821,000 | Home Secretary |
| Robert Browning* | 16,744 | 1890 | 1,194,000 | Poet, from a family of wine merchants |
| Henry Cecil Raikes | 15,853 | 1891 | 1,121,000 | Deputy Speaker of the British House of Commons and Postmaster General |
| Joseph Warner Henley | 11,411 | 1885 | 798,000 | President of the Board of Trade |
| Lyon Playfair, 1st Baron Playfair | 10,538 | 1890 | 751,000 | Scottish scientist and Postmaster General |
| Sir James Fergusson of Kilkerran | 10,073 | 1907 | 690,000 | Governors of South Australia, New Zealand and Bombay; Postmaster General |
| Herbert Henry Asquith | 9,345 | 1928 | 365,000 | Prime Minister |
| Henry Chaplin | 4,886 | 1923 | 181,000 | Cabinet minister, once a great landowner |
[edit] Politicians and civil servants active from 1903 to 1939
[edit] Politicians and civil servants active from 1939 to 1966
| Person | Estate value in pounds | Year of probate | Inflation-adjusted estate value in pounds in 2004 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| William Sidney, 1st Viscount De L'Isle | 4,678,883 | 1992 | 6,307,000 | |
| Quintin McGarel Hogg, 2nd Viscount Hailsham | 4,618,511 | 2001 | 4,976,000 | |
| Julian Amery | 4,375,875 | 1996 | 5,350,000 | |
| Christopher Soames | 2,218,825 | 1987 | 4,065,000 | |
| Lord Louis Mountbatten | 2,196,944 | 1980 | 6,135,000 | Military leader, last Viceroy of India, married money |
| Anthony Head, 1st Viscount Head | 1,688,854 | 1983 | 3,711,000 | |
| John Hare, 1st Viscount Blakenham | 1,656,711 | 1982 | 3,808,000 | |
| Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 5th Marquess of Salisbury | 1,688,854 | 1972 | 14,514,000 | Landowner |
| Richard Austen Butler | 748,789 | 1982 | 1,721,000 | |
| Peter Thorneycroft | 533,232 | 1994 | 691,000 | |
| Harold Wilson | 490,992 | 1995 | 615,000 | Labour Prime minister |
| Alec Douglas-Home | 430,296 | 1995 | 539,000 | Scottish landowner, Conservative Prime Minister |
| Frederick Marquis, 1st Earl of Woolton | 407,790 | 1965 | 5,137,000 | Businessman |
| Winston Churchill | 304,044 | 1966 | 3,685,000 | Twice Conservative Prime Minister |
| Frank Pakenham, 7th Earl of Longford | 285,097 | 2001 | 307,000 | |
| Emanuel Shinwell | 271,509 | 1986 | 518,000 | |
| Enoch Powell | 246,603 | 1998 | 283,000 | |
| Selwyn Lloyd | 154,169 | 1978 | 576,000 | |
| Reginald Maudling | 140,690 | 1979 | 463,000 | |
| Reginald Manningham-Buller, 1st Viscount Dilhorne | 120,000 | 1981 | 300,000 | |
| William Allen Jowitt, 1st Viscount Jowitt | 104,727 | 1957 | 1,642,000 | |
| Anthony Eden | 92,900 | 1977 | 376,000 | Conservative Prime Minister |
| David Margesson | 84,279 | 1966 | 1,022,000 | Company director |
| Hugh Gaitskell | 80,013 | 1963 | 1,091,000 | |
| Oliver Lyttelton, 1st Viscount Chandos | 78,637 | 1987 | 144,000 | |
| Frederick Pethick-Lawrence | 75,739 | 1961 | 1,098,000 | |
| Gwilym Lloyd George | 64,647 | 1967 | 765,000 | |
| Harold MacMillan | 51,114 | 1987 | 94,000 | Family publishing firm, Conservative Prime Minister |
| John Strachey | 50,157 | 1963 | 684,000 | |
| P.J. Grigg | 49,460 | 1964 | 653,000 | |
| William Wedgwood Benn, 1st Viscount Stansgate | 37,888 | 1961 | 549,000 | |
| George Henry Hall | 30,659 | 1966 | 372,000 | |
| Herbert Stanley Morrison | 28,600 | 1965 | 360,000 | |
| Hugh Dalton | 26,966 | 1962 | 375,000 | |
| Aneurin Bevan | 23,481 | 1960 | 352,000 | |
| David Maxwell Fyfe, 1st Earl of Kilmuir | 22,202 | 1967 | 263,000 | Lawyer |
| William Beveridge | 22,122 | 1963 | 302,000 | Civil servant |
| Sir Stafford Cripps | 15,190 | 1952 | 284,000 | |
| Ernest Bevin | 13,988 | 1951 | 286,000 | |
| James Chuter Ede | 7,702 | 1966 | 93,000 | |
| Arthur Greenwood | 7,591 | 1954 | 135,000 | |
| Clement Attlee | 7,295 | 1967 | 86,000 | Labour Prime Minister |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Dictionary of National Biography: facts about the value of probated wills are taken from this standard reference.
- Decline and Fall of the British Aristocracy, David Cannadine, Pan books, London, 1992. Details of land areas are taken from this well known work.
- What is the relative value in UK Pounds?. Officer, Lawrence, eh.net, 2004-10-30. Retrieved on 2006-07-03.
