The billionaire brothers behind the betting company Betfred topped the Sunday Times’ list of tax evaders for 2026.
Fred and Peter Done paid £400.1 million (approximately €475 million) in taxes, with about half of that amount relating to gambling fees from their betting empire.
In addition to them, names like Tim Martin, Harry Styles, Ed Sheeran, Erling Haaland, and Mo Salah are among the top 100 contributors in the United Kingdom, according to the new rankings.
Businessman disputes values
Martin, founder of the Wetherspoon’s chain, occupies the eighth position, with a personal contribution estimated at just under £200 million.
JD Wetherspoon paid over £1 million in taxes per pub, with a network of 794 establishments, injecting £837.1 million into public finances.
This amount includes corporate tax, business taxes, slot machine tax and VAT. Martin owns 26.7% of the company’s shares.
In an interview, the businessman, who supports Brexit, criticized the government for adding VAT to meals in bars, when this is not done in supermarkets.
“I can’t complain about the level of taxation, actually – that’s a political issue. The parties present their ideas and the voters decide,” he commented.
What does the new list show?
The eighth edition of the list coincides with the departure of wealthy businesspeople from the United Kingdom to offshore destinations in Europe and the Middle East.
Five of the players in the 2025 ranking now live in Jersey or Guernsey, four in Monaco, and two in Portugal. Others are in Cyprus, Dubai, and the United States.
However, Peter Done, 78, commented that he had no plans to leave the United Kingdom. “We owe this country a debt,” he said.
“I feel that people who have earned money in this country have an obligation to pay taxes in this country. Fred and I are going to stay here,” he explained.
Other known names
The list also includes Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, the Timpson family behind the shoe repair empire, tech entrepreneur James Dyson, and Douglas and Iain Anderson, whose GAP Group provides restrooms for concerts and festivals.
The top 10 also includes investors Alex Gerko, Chris Rokos and Peter Hargeaves, Mike Ashley, founder of Sports Direct, Tom Morris of Home Bargains, the Perkins family, owners of Specsavers, and Stephen Rubin, who holds a large stake in JD Sports as well as the company behind Speedo.
Changes in revenue collection
Official data indicates that the wealthiest 1% in the United Kingdom — those with a gross income of at least £219,000 — contribute approximately a quarter (26.6%) of all UK income tax during the current fiscal year.
This figure fell 30.7% in 2021-22, mainly due to the freezing of income tax thresholds. The exodus of some wealthy individuals to jurisdictions with lower taxes may also have contributed to the change.
