List of British politicians by wealth at death

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Wealth at death of British politicians: based on probate.

Contents

[edit] About the tables

Based on probated wills after the death of the politician. Please note that land is not always included, reducing the figure for some landowners to a small fraction of their actual wealth. Also, many wealthy individuals transferred wealth to descendants before their deaths as this was a means of avoiding death duty from its introduction in the late 19th century through most of the 20th century. Thus these figures cannot be taken as a full picture of the politicians' wealth in their lifetimes or at their death and should not be quoted as such. The advent of punishing death duties caused many landed families to become steadily poorer as the century progressed.

Because of inflation, amounts left at earlier times are worth a lot more. This is especially true after Britain went off the gold standard during the Great Depression. Post World War II heavy taxes, inflation and slower economic growth reduced the value of the pound even more. As an example, when Winston Churchill resumed writing after World War II. he faced a tax of 97.5% on his earned income.

Year refers to the year the will was probated ( usually within a few months of death).

In some cases, like Henry Chaplin, persons who were quite wealthy early in life were in reduced circumstances at time of death. Others, like Lord Beaverbrook, gave away most of their estates to charity before death. Follow the links to brief biographies of the persons listed.

To provide a sense of scale, several noted British or colonial persons who are not politicians are included. They are identified with an asterisk*.

[edit] Politicians and public figures active in Victorian times

Person Estate value in pounds Year of probate Inflation-adjusted estate value in pounds in 2004 Notes
Sir Ernest Cassel* 6,000,000 1921 170,000,000 Merchant banker
Cecil Rhodes 5,000,000 1902 350,000,000 Prime Minister of the Cape Colony and mining magnate
William Henry Smith 1,773,388 1892 125,877,000 Cabinet Minister and newsagent (founder of W H Smith)
George Stephen, 1st Baron Mount Stephen* 1,414,319 1922 50,017,000 Canadian Pacific Railway and banking
Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery 1,396,577 1929 55,006,000 Prime Minister and Scottish landowner
Spencer Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire 1,164,960 1908 78,811,000 Cabinet minister and landowner: 198,572 acres (803.6 km²) in England and Ireland in 1880
Sir Charles Seely, 1st Baronet 1,052,070 1915 54,598,000 MP and landowner
William Lowther, 2nd Earl of Lonsdale ~700,000 1872 41,000,000 Cabinet minister and landowner: 67,457 acres (273.0 km²) in 1872
John Poyntz Spencer, 5th Earl Spencer 642,454 1910 42,471,000 Landowner and cabinet minister
George Otto Trevelyan 556,933 1928 21,734,000 Cabinet minister and landowner, especially in Northumberland
Charles Stewart Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 6th Marquess of Londonderry 501,623 1916 22,031,000 Cabinet Minister and landowner: 50,323 acres (203.6 km²) in Ireland, England and Wales in 1880
Walter Francis Montagu-Douglas-Scott, 5th Duke of Buccleuch 475,050 1884 32,070,000 minor office holder and landowner: 460,108 acres (1862.0 km²) in Scotland and England in 1880
Donald Alexander Smith, 1st Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal 421,655 1914 32,070,000 Canadian railroad magnate; Canadian High Commissioner in London
George Nathaniel Curzon 354,894 1925 26,216,000 Viceroy of India, important Cabinet Minister and landowner: 9,929 acres (40.2 km²) in England in 1900; married an American heiress
Charles Henry Gordon-Lennox, 6th Duke of Richmond 353,573 1904 24,679,000 Minor cabinet minister and landowner: 80,000 acres (320 km²) in England and Ireland in 1880
Henry Howard Molyneux Herbert, 4th Earl of Carnarvon 328,809 1892 23,154,000 Secretary of State for the Colonies and landowner
Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury 310,336 1903 21,591,000 Prime Minister and landowner
Gathorne Gathorne-Hardy, 1st Earl of Cranbrook 274,098 1906 19,090,000 Senior cabinet minister and landowner
Henry Matthews, 1st Viscount Llandaff 259,749 1913 16,553,000 Cabinet minister, lawyer and landowner
John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley 253,313 1902 17,818,000 Longtime Liberal cabinet minister; 10,000 acres (40 km²) in Norfolk, some property in Cornwall
Thomas George Baring, 1st Earl of Northbrook 246,698 1904 17,220,000 Official from banking family, landowner
Victor Alexander Bruce, 9th Earl of Elgin 212,494 1917 7,712,000 Cabinet minister and Scottish landowner; 2,895 acres (11.7 km²) in 1894
Edward Marjoribanks, 2nd Baron Tweedmouth 204,975 1909 13,837,000 Cabinet minister and Northern England landowner
Sir William Vernon Harcourt 190,240 1904 13,279,000 Senior Cabinet minister and landowner
Dudley Francis Stuart Ryder, 3rd Earl of Harrowby 183,848 1901 12,932,000 Minor Cabinet minister and landowner
Sidney Herbert 160,000 1861 9,700,000 Senior Cabinet minister
Hugh McCalmont Cairns, 1st Earl Cairns 148,168 1885 10,365,000 Lord Chancellor and lawyer
George Joachim Goschen, 1st Viscount Goschen 141,568 1907 9,701,000 Senior Cabinet minister from a banking family
Joseph Chamberlain 126,019 1914 7,835,000 Secretary of State for the Colonies and Birmingham businessman
George Frederick Samuel Robinson, 1st Marquess of Ripon 125,574 1909 8,477,000 Viceroy of India, Cabinet minister and landowner: 21,770 acres (88.1 km²) in England in 1880
Lord Palmerston 120,000 1865 7,600,000 Prime Minister and landowner
Charles Thomson Ritchie 116,245 1906 8,096,000 Conservative cabinet minister from a Scottish jute merchant family
Richard Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville, 3rd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos 115,316 1890 8,220,000 Landowner and cabinet minister
Henry Thurston Holland, 1st Viscount Knutsford 112,217 1914 6,977,000 Secretary of State for the Colonies and landowner
William Wood, 1st Baron Hatherley 105,247 1883 6,865,000 Lord Chancellor and successful lawyer
John Manners, 7th Duke of Rutland 99,596 1906 6,937,000 Minor Cabinet minister and landowner; 70,137 acres (283.8 km²) in England in 1880
Algernon Percy, 6th Duke of Northumberland 96,833 1902 6,744,000 Minor Cabinet minister and landowner; 186,379 acres (754.2 km²) in England in 1880
Henry Hartley Fowler, 1st Lord Wolverhampton 93,697 1911 6,181,000 Liberal Cabinet minister; Methodist solicitor who married into money
Austen Henry Layard 92,464 1894 6,820,000 Minor Cabinet minister, excavator of Nineveh, traveller, art collector
James Harris, 3rd Earl of Malmesbury 91,762 1889 6,571,000 Diplomat and senior Cabinet minister
Richard Assheton Cross, 1st Viscount Cross 91,617 1914 5,696,000 Conservative Cabinet minister
George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen 90,212 1861 5,469,000 Prime Minister and landowner
Schomberg Henry Kerr, 9th Marquess of Lothian 88,084 1900 6,175,000 Scottish landowner and Secretary for Scotland
John Bright 86,289 1890 6,151,000 Liberal statesman and Cabinet minister
Benjamin Disraeli 84,019 1882 5,480,000 Prime Minister
Sir William Hart Dyke 79,112 1931 3,698,000  
Arthur Balfour 76,433 1930 3,130,000 Prime Minister from a wealthy Scottish family
Lord Randolph Churchill 75,971 1895 5,682,000 Son of the 7th Duke of Marlborough, Cabinet minister and father of Winston Churchill
Henry Austin Bruce, 1st Baron Aberdare 74,408 1896 5,579,000 Home Secretary and Lord President of the Council
George Eden, 1st Earl of Auckland 70,000 1849 5,000,000 First Lord of the Admiralty and Governor-General of India
William Ewart Gladstone 59,506 1898 4,295,000 Prime Minister and landowner
Sir Charles Wood 55,478 1886 3,915,000 Yorkshire landowner
Edward Cardwell 55,431 1887 3,992,000 Senior Cabinet minister
Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman 54,908 1908 3,715,000 Prime Minister from a Scottish business family
Lord George Hamilton 53,568 1927 2,071,000 Senior cabinet minister, son of the 1st Duke of Abercorn
Alexander Hugh Bruce, 6th Lord Balfour of Burleigh 49,308 1921 1,417,000 Scottish landowner; 2,715 acres (11.0 km²) in 1920
Chichester Fortescue 41,808 1898 3,017,000 Liberal Cabinet minister
James Bryce, 1st Viscount Bryce 36,205 1922 1,280,000 Diplomat and essayist
Sir James Graham 35,000 1861 2,100,000 Senior Cabinet Minister
Michael Hicks Beach, 1st Earl St Aldwyn 34,859 1921 1,002,000 Senior Cabinet minister and English landowner
Granville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl Granville 33,283 1891 2,354,000 Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
Spencer Walpole 38,664 1898 2,790,000 Civil servant and historian
Hardinge Giffard, 1st Earl of Halsbury 25,009 1922 884,000 Lawyer and judge, Lord Chancellor
Stafford Northcote, 1st Earl of Iddesleigh 24,717 1887 1,780,000 Senior Cabinet minister
Gerald Balfour, 2nd Earl of Balfour 23,369 1945 653,000 Cabinet Minister  
Hugh Culling Eardley Childers 21,912 1896 1,643,000 Australian and British Liberal statesman
Aretas Akers-Douglas, 1st Viscount Chilston 21,841 1926 821,000 Home Secretary
Robert Browning* 16,744 1890 1,194,000 Poet, from a family of wine merchants
Henry Cecil Raikes 15,853 1891 1,121,000 Deputy Speaker of the British House of Commons and Postmaster General
Joseph Warner Henley 11,411 1885 798,000 President of the Board of Trade
Lyon Playfair, 1st Baron Playfair 10,538 1890 751,000 Scottish scientist and Postmaster General
Sir James Fergusson of Kilkerran 10,073 1907 690,000 Governors of South Australia, New Zealand and Bombay; Postmaster General
Herbert Henry Asquith 9,345 1928 365,000 Prime Minister
Henry Chaplin 4,886 1923 181,000 Cabinet minister, once a great landowner

[edit] Politicians and civil servants active from 1903 to 1939

Person Estate value in pounds Year of probate Inflation-adjusted estate value in pounds in 2004 Notes
Sir John Ellerman* 36,685,000 1933 1,686,758,000 Shipping magnate
Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe 2,000,000 1924 73,887,000 Media mogul
Philip Sassoon 1,946,892 1939 78,179,000 Member of Parliament with inherited wealth
Charles Vane-Tempest-Stewart, 7th Marquess of Londonderry 1,021,759 1949 23,498,000 Cabinet minister during the 1930s and Northern Irish landowner
David Alfred Thomas, 1st Viscount Rhondda 883,645 1919 26,302,000 Welsh businessman
Frederick Archibald Vaughan Campbell, 3rd Earl Cawdor 633,328 1911 41,781,000 Landowner, briefly in the Cabinet
Earl of Swinton 454,430 1972 3,905,000 Longtime Cabinet minister
Lord Beaverbrook 379,530 1965 4,781,000 Cabinet minister, businessman and newspaper owner; originally Canadian, excluding Canadian wealth
Edward Frederick Lindley Wood, 1st Earl of Halifax | 338,800 1960 5,078,000 Viceroy of India, British Ambassador to the United States, Cabinet minister and English landowner: 10,142 acres (41.0 km²) in 1926
James Gascoyne-Cecil, 4th Marquess of Salisbury 317,457 1947 8,057,000 Cabinet Minister and landowner
Winston Churchill 304,044 1966 3,685,000 Twice Prime Minister; money from writing
Rufus Isaacs, 1st Marquess of Reading 290,487 1936 12,785,000 Very successful lawyer, Viceroy of India and Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
Stanley Baldwin 280,971 1948 6,642,000 Three times Prime Minister; family money from iron business
Edward Turnour, 6th Earl Winterton 239,188 1963 3,260,000 Cabinet minister
Douglas McGarel Hogg, 1st Viscount Hailsham 225,032 1950 5,021,000 Cabinet minister and lawyer
Ronald Munro-Ferguson, 1st Viscount Novar 213,812 1934 9,831,000 Governor-General of Australia
Lewis Vernon Harcourt 199,290 1922 7,048,000 Minor Cabinet minister and landowner
William Ormsby-Gore 192,209 1964 2,537,000 Cabinet minister
Sir Samuel Hoare, 1st Viscount Templewood 186,944 1935 8,408,000 Senior Cabinet Minister and ambassador
Arthur Hamilton Lee, 1st Viscount Lee of Fareham 183,064 1948 4,327,000 First Lord of the Admiralty
Sydney Buxton, 1st Earl Buxton 158,983 1934 7,310,000 Cabinet minister and Governor-General of South Africa
Montagu Norman 253,316 1950 5,652,000 Banker
Sir Edward Carson 150,295 1935 6,759,000 Cabinet Minister, Ulster loyalist, barrister and judge
David Lloyd George 141,147 1946 3,792,000 Prime Minister' during World War I
William Lygon, 7th Earl Beauchamp 140,993 1939 5,662,000 Junior Cabinet Minister and landowner
Thomas McKinnon Wood 130,372 1927 5,041,000 Junior Cabinet minister
Sir Edward Grey 123,791 1935 5,567,000 Senior Cabinet Minister and landowner
Robert Crewe-Milnes, 1st Marquess of Crewe 122,494 1947 3,109,000 Liberal Cabinet minister
Sir Laming Worthington-Evans 118,562 1931 5,218,000 Cabinet minister
Sir John Gilmour 116,736 1940 4,128,000 Cabinet minister
Sir Bolton Eyres-Monsell 106,074 1969 1,136,000 First Lord of the Admiralty
Walter Hume Long 103,990 1924 3,842,000 Landowner and prominent Conservative politician
Ronald John McNeill, 1st Baron Cushendun 102,682 1935 4,618,000 Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Acting Foreign Secretary and twice chief British representative to the League of Nations
Sir Eric Geddes 100,432 1937 4,197,000 Businessman and Cabinet minister during World War I
Sir John Simon 93,006 1954 1,659,000 Longtime Cabinet Minister
Reginald McKenna 89,948 1943 2,620,000 Senior Cabinet minister and banker
Neville Chamberlain 84,013 1940 2,971,000 Prime Minister; inherited money
John Davidson, 1st Viscount Davidson 69,510 1971 640,000 Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Richard Burdon Haldane, 1st Viscount Haldane 69,334 1928 2,706,000 Scottish landowner and senior Cabinet minister (Liberal, later Labour)
William Brodrick, 1st Earl of Midleton 68,590 1943 1,998,000 Senior Cabinet minister
Sir Auckland Geddes 67,801 1954 1,210,000 Wartime official and businessman
Sir William Joynson-Hicks 67,661 1932 3,043,000 Conservative Cabinet minister during the 1920s
Robert Horne 64,923 1941 2,082,000 Cabinet minister and company director
Herbert Gladstone 64,138 1930 2,627,000 Cabinet minister
Kingsley Wood 63,891 1944 1,823,000 Conservative Cabinet minister and lawyer
F. E. Smith, 1st Earl of Birkenhead 63,223 1931 2,782,000 Very successful lawyer, Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for India
William Clive Bridgeman, 1st Viscount Bridgeman 62,913 1935 2,829,000 Home Secretary and First Lord of the Admiralty
George Ambrose Lloyd, 1st Baron Lloyd 56,967 1941 1,827,000 Civil servant
Aubrey Herbert 49,970 1924 1,84,000 MP and landowner
Charles Alfred Cripps, 1st Baron Parmoor 48,093 1941 1,542,000 Labour Cabinet minister
Edwin Montagu 44,969 1925 1,661,000 Cabinet minister
Lord Hugh Cecil 44,194 1957 693,000 MP and younger son of landed family
Reginald Brett, 2nd Viscount Esher 40,686 1930 1,666,000 Court official: Deputy Constable and Lieutenant-Governor, then Constable and Governor of Windsor Castle
Sir Archibald Sinclair 39,444 1970 397,000 Wartime Cabinet minister and Scottish landowner
Maurice Hankey, 1st Baron Hankey 35,782 1963 488,000 Civil servant
Lord Robert Cecil 28,997 1959 439,000 Cabinet minister, younger son of landed family
Herbert Samuel, 1st Viscount Samuel 28,919 1963 394,000 High Commissioner of the British Mandate of Palestine, senior Cabinet minister
James Eric Drummond, 16th Earl of Perth 28,870 1952 541,000 First general secretary of the League of Nations
George Cave, 1st Viscount Cave 28,832 1928 1,125,000 Lord Chancellor
Frederic John Napier Thesiger, 1st Viscount Chelmsford 26,452 1933 1,216,000 Minor cabinet minister and Viceroy of India
Augustine Birrell 25,499 1934 1,172,000 Chief Secretary for Ireland, literary career
Sir John Anderson, 1st Viscount Waverley 25,020 1958 381,000 Cabinet minister, civil servant earlier in career
John Buchan, Lord Tweedsmuir 24,513 1940 867,000 MP, writer and Governor-General of Canada
Sir Mark Sykes 20,000 1919 595,000 MP, diplomat and Yorkshire landowner
William Waldegrave Palmer, 2nd Earl of Selborne 18,640 1942 563,000 Cabinet Minister
Thomas Walker Hobart Inskip, 1st Viscount Caldecote 17,908 1948 423,000 Attorney General, Minister for Coordination of Defence, Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs, Lord Chancellor, Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
Christopher Addison, 1st Viscount Addison 16,220 1952 304,000 Cabinet minister
John Burns 15,137 1943 441,000 Prominent trade unionist, anti-racist, socialist and politician
Alfred Duff Cooper 14,303 1954 255,000 Cabinet minister and diplomat
William Adamson 9,805 1936 432,000 Leader of the Labour Party
Herbert Asquith 9,345 1928 365,000 lawyer, cabinet minister and Liberal Prime Minister
Leopold Stennett Amery 8,820 1955 151,000 Longtime Conservative cabinet minister
Hilaire Belloc 7,451 1953 135,000 writer and MP
Francis Knollys, 1st Viscount Knollys 5,223 1924 193,000 Private Secretary to King Edward VII
Philip Snowden 3,366 1937 141,000 Labour Cabinet minister
Vernon Hartshorn 2,278 1931 100,000 Cabinet minister and Simon Commissionner
Frederick Ponsonby, 1st Baron Sysonby 2,135 1936 94,000  
George Lansbury 1,695 1939 68,000 Labour Party leader
Charles Frederick Gurney Masterman 452 1928 18,000 Liberal politician and journalist

[edit] Politicians and civil servants active from 1939 to 1966

Person Estate value in pounds Year of probate Inflation-adjusted estate value in pounds in 2004 Notes
Edward Heath 5,410,364 2005 5,500,000 Conservative Prime Minister (1970–74)
William Sidney, 1st Viscount De L'Isle 4,678,883 1992 6,307,000  
Quintin McGarel Hogg, 2nd Viscount Hailsham 4,618,511 2001 4,976,000  
Julian Amery 4,375,875 1996 5,350,000  
Christopher Soames 2,218,825 1987 4,065,000  
Lord Louis Mountbatten 2,196,944 1980 6,135,000 Military leader, Viceroy of India (1947), married money
Anthony Head, 1st Viscount Head 1,688,854 1983 3,711,000  
John Hare, 1st Viscount Blakenham 1,656,711 1982 3,808,000  
Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 5th Marquess of Salisbury 1,688,854 1972 14,514,000 Landowner
Richard Austen Butler 748,789 1982 1,721,000  
Peter Thorneycroft 533,232 1994 691,000  
Harold Wilson 490,992 1995 615,000 Labour Prime Minister (1964–70, 1974–76)
Alec Douglas-Home 430,296 1995 539,000 Scottish landowner, Conservative Prime Minister (1963–64)
Frederick Marquis, 1st Earl of Woolton 407,790 1965 5,137,000 Businessman
Winston Churchill 304,044 1966 3,685,000 Twice Conservative Prime Minister (1940–45, 1951–55)
Frank Pakenham, 7th Earl of Longford 285,097 2001 307,000  
Emanuel Shinwell 271,509 1986 518,000  
Enoch Powell 246,603 1998 283,000  
Selwyn Lloyd 154,169 1978 576,000  
Reginald Maudling 140,690 1979 463,000  
Reginald Manningham-Buller, 1st Viscount Dilhorne 120,000 1981 300,000  
William Allen Jowitt, 1st Viscount Jowitt 104,727 1957 1,642,000  
Anthony Eden 92,900 1977 376,000 Conservative Prime Minister (1955–57)
David Margesson 84,279 1966 1,022,000 Company director
Hugh Gaitskell 80,013 1963 1,091,000  
Oliver Lyttelton, 1st Viscount Chandos 78,637 1987 144,000  
Frederick Pethick-Lawrence 75,739 1961 1,098,000  
Gwilym Lloyd George 64,647 1967 765,000  
Harold MacMillan 51,114 1987 94,000 Family publishing firm, Conservative Prime Minister (1957–63)
John Strachey 50,157 1963 684,000  
P.J. Grigg 49,460 1964 653,000  
William Wedgwood Benn, 1st Viscount Stansgate 37,888 1961 549,000  
George Henry Hall 30,659 1966 372,000  
Herbert Stanley Morrison 28,600 1965 360,000  
Hugh Dalton 26,966 1962 375,000  
Aneurin Bevan 23,481 1960 352,000  
David Maxwell Fyfe, 1st Earl of Kilmuir 22,202 1967 263,000 Lawyer
William Beveridge 22,122 1963 302,000 Civil servant
Sir Stafford Cripps 15,190 1952 284,000  
Ernest Bevin 13,988 1951 286,000  
James Chuter Ede 7,702 1966 93,000  
Arthur Greenwood 7,591 1954 135,000  
Clement Attlee 7,295 1967 86,000 Labour Prime Minister (1945–51)

[edit] See also

[edit] References