The 2015 Sunday Times Rich List: UK hedge fund billionaires almost double

Seven UK hedge fund managers are worth over £1bn (€1.4bn, $1.5bn), up from four executives in 2014, according to an annual wealth ranking compiled by the Sunday Times.

Crispin Odey, who founded Odey Asset Management, and his wife Nichola Pease have almost doubled their combined wealth to £1.1bn, according to the Sunday Times Rich List 2015.

Odey Asset Management's profits trebled to a record £174m in 2013-14, with Odey earning £47.8m, the newspaper said in a 24 April statement.

Meanwhile, Alan Howard and Michael Platt, co-founders of Brevan Howard Asset Management and BlueCrest Capital Management, jointly lead the list with fortunes of £1.5bn each.

Howard's personal fortune dropped £100m after topping the 2014 list while Platt's wealth was unchanged from 2014, data showed.

Other hedge fund billionaires include Alexander Knaster of Pamplona Capital, Michael Hintze of CQS Management, Robert Miller of Search Investment Group and David Harding of Winton Capital.

Hedge fund managers are taking on more clients with the economy growing at its fastest pace since 2008. And British investors are seeking managers' expertise to make up for a slump in yields from fixed income amid record-low interest rates, Bloomberg reported.

The 2015 Sunday Times Rich List will be out on 26 April, with the 128-page edition revealing the wealth of the 1,000 richest people in Britain.

The Sunday Times Rich List, compiled by British wealth expert Philip Beresford and edited by Ian Coxon, will be available online at thesundaytimes.co.uk/richlist.