Most of the Russian oligarchs sanctioned by the West after the invasion of Ukraine has held up well, the Sunday Times has revealed in its just published UK Rich List 2022.

However, Roman Abramovich is one of the few wealthy Russians to have seen his finances hit badly since the war began, it said, falling 20 places to 28th in the rankings.

Overall, the UK's ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWI) have grown their combined fortunes by 8% to a record £710bn in just 12 months, this year's Sunday Times Rich List has found.

A record 177 UK billionaires are identified in the 34th edition of the annual rankings — six more than in 2021. 

This year's top 250 now have more wealth than the entire 1,000 entries of the 2017 Rich List, it said.

The strong year is largely due to a robust stock market and the vast war chests held by private equity funds, which continue to inflate company values.

Sri and Gopi Hinduja top this year's Rich List, with wealth estimated at £28.472bn which is the largest sum ever attributed to a family or individual in the Rich List's history.

Guillaume Pousaz, 41, has seen his fortune grow from £5.5bn to £19.3bn since last year after a successful fundraising for his payments business. 

UK chancellor Rishi Sunak, is one of a raft of new entries into this year's ranking. 

Sunak, 42, qualifies largely on the strength of his marriage to Akshata Murty, who owns a £690m stake in an Indian IT business set up by her father.

Although many wealthy Russians have lost the use of villas, mansions and superyachts since late February, these assets remain frozen rather than seized. Because they remain their legal owner, such trophies are still considered part of a sanctioned individual's fortune, even if they are less valuable.

With relations between Russia and the West deteriorating for some years, many oligarchs have transferred assets to members of their family to avoid the impact of sanctions. 

They have also stowed money in Cyprus, the British Virgin Islands and other low-tax destinations well beyond the reach of the authorities in the West, the Sunday Times said. 

The strong recovery of the ruble in recent weeks has also shored up the value of what assets oligarchs still own in Russia.

Abramovich, however, is the biggest loser of all in this year's Rich List, the Sunday Times further highlighted.  

He is expected to face a multi-billion pound hit from the forthcoming sale of Chelsea. 

The value of his shares in Evraz, a metals giant listed on the London stock market, have also lost more than £2.2 billion of value since last year. His wealth is written down from £12.1bn to £6bn this year.

Sunday Times rich list top 10 rankings 
Shown by Rank, Name, Worth , Rise/Fall, Source of wealth 2022 (2021)                

1 (3)    Sri and Gopi Hinduja and family    £28.472bn    £11.472bn    Industry and finance
2 (4)    Sir James Dyson and family    £23bn    £6.7bn    Household goods and technology: Dyson
3 (2)    David and Simon Reuben and family    £22.265bn    £800m    Property and internet
4 (1)    Sir Leonard Blavatnik    £20bn    £3bn    Investment, music and media
5 (33)    Guillaume Pousaz    £19.259bn    £13.716bn    Online payments: Checkout.com
6 (5)    Lakshmi Mittal and family    £17bn    £2.32bn    Steel: ArcelorMittal
7 (120=)    Christoph Henkel and family    £15bn    £13.6bn    Chemicals: Henkel
8 (10)    Guy, George, Alannah and Galen Weston and family    £13.5bn    £2.5bn    Retailing
9 (7)    Kirsten and Jorn Rausing    £12bn    £1bn    Inheritance and investment
10 (9)    Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken and Michel de Carvalho    £11.421bn    £592m    Inheritance, brewing and banking