Dezeen Magazine

Norman Foster

Norman Foster only architect on Britain's rich list

News: Norman Foster is the only architect to appear on this year's list of Britain's 2000 wealthiest people, published by The Sunday Times.

Foster, whose buildings include 30 St Mary Axe – nicknamed the Gherkin – in London's financial centre and the HSBC building in Hong Kong, was placed at 522 in the Rich List, down from his ranking of 501 last year, with a personal fortune estimated at £150 million.

The 77-year-old, who lives in Switzerland, earned £120 million in 2007 after selling 40% of his practice Foster + Partners. He still owns a 45% stake in the firm, where profits fell in 2011-12 to £5.6 million.

Elsewhere on the list, the owners of Scottish architectural practice RMJM were at 859 with a fortune of £80 million, while Irvine and James Sellar, the developers of Renzo Piano's Shard skyscraper in central London, ranked 387 with £200 million.

Zaha Hadid, who last night was named Veuve Clicquot Business Woman of the Year, appeared in last year's list but was absent from the 2013 edition.

Foster + Partners hit the news recently when it was revealed that the new Cupertino campus the firm is designing for tech giant Apple is now nearly $2 billion over budget – see all architecture by Foster + Partners.