16 May 2025 , 07:47
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The Sunday Times Rich List has revealed that migrant hotel tycoon Graham King has officially become a billionaire.
King has amassed a fortune of £1.015 billion through his sprawling asylum accommodation empire.
The tycoon’s wealth skyrocketed this year with a massive £265m increase pushing him over the line to become a billionaire.
He is now among The Sunday Times Rich List’s newest billionaires after only making it onto the list last year.
King, 58, is an Essex asylum hotel tycoon who made his impressive fortune through his company Clearsprings Ready Homes.
The company is paid by the home office to provide accommodation for asylum seekers.
It has a massive £1.7 billion turnover with King’s firm raking in almost £4.8 million a day.
King now uses his wealth to fund a lavish lifestyle for him and his girlfriend and pursues his passion of amateur racing.
His fortune reached record highs alongside record high numbers of people claiming asylum in the UK.
The number of people claiming asylum climbed from 91,811 in 2023 to 108,138 last year, a record high.
The news comes just after PM Kier Starmer announced a crack down on immigration.
King once owned a caravan park and disco and grew up in Canvey Island, Essex.
Clearsprings recent contracts include one with the home office that runs until September 2029.
The most recent contract is estimated to be worth a massive £7.3 billion.
The huge success of King’s company has seen his personal wealth skyrocket.
He is now officially a billionaire according to The Sunday Times Rich List.
Graham King first made it onto rich list last year, owning 99% of Clearsprings’ shares.
His wealth has exploded since, catapulting him from the 221st spot on the list to the 154th.
Home Office contracts to house asylum seekers have been awarded mostly to three companies.
King’s Clearsprings Ready Homes, Mears Group and Serco.
Clearsprings provides accommodation mostly in old military barracks, flats and hotels.
King, now officially a billionaire, launched his property empire in 1999.
He has made the news for the condition of his properties before with inspectors finding "failures of leadership and planning" in his operations.
Asylum seekers were housed by King’s company in "decrepit" and "run down" barracks in Kent and Pembrokeshire.
King’s already massive wealth rose 35% this year which and now sits at £1.015 billion.
BIG SPENDERS
For the fourth year in a row, Goji Hinduja and family have topped the Sunday Times Rich list, with the investors sharing a net worth of £35.304 billion.
They suffered a fall of £1.892 billion from last year’s survey.
The minimum entry level for the list flatlines at £350 million.
The list reveals the country’s 350 richest individuals who share a net worth of £772.8 billion, a three per cent decrease from last year.
But this year’s list marks the largest drop in billionaires in the guide’s 37-year history, with just 156 making the list compared to its peak of 177 in 2022.
The Hindujas were followed in the list by real estate moguls David and Simon Reuben, who moved up to second after increasing their wealth to £26.9 billion.
They were followed by investor Sir Leonard Blavatnik, entrepreneur Sir James Dyson and shipping tycoon Idan Ofer.
Other celebrities who made the list include Ellen Degeneres, Charlotte Tilbury, Ed Sheeran and Brewdog Founder James Watt.
King and his girlfriend frequently holiday togetherCredit: Tim Stewart
Migrant hotel tycoon Graham King is a keen amateur racing driver.Credit: Tim Stewart
King’s business started off when he purchased a caravan siteCredit: Tim Stewart
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