IT and telecoms top millionaire list

Research from Skandia reveals the IT and telecoms space is in pole position with manufacturing in terms of creating millionaires

The IT/telecoms space is creating more millionaires in the UK than any other industry, except manufacturing, research has revealed today.

Investment specialist Skandia’s Millionaire Monitor report tracks attitudes and investment among the UK’s wealthy.

It revealed that 21 per cent of 436 millionaires questioned made their fortune from working in IT/telecoms or manufacturing.

Millionaires are defined by Skandia as having investible assets over £1m, excluding their main residential property. Of those questioned, 18 per cent worked in finance and 17 per cent in the service industry.

Almost a third of those surveyed (29 per cent) started their own business. Some 26 per cent of these entrepreneurs became millionaires through IT/telecoms.

Graham Bentley, head of investment strategy at Skandia, said: “Over half (53 per cent) of the entrepreneurs in our survey started their business before they were 25 years old and almost two-thirds (60 per cent) made their wealth within 10 years, so there are real benefits to providing enterprising young people with the means to get a business up and running.”

He said the government plans to introduce a programme of enterprise loans to help young people set up their own business will encourage the UK’s entrepreneurial spirit. “How this scheme is structured will be crucial: modelling it on the student loan [system] won’t work,” he cautioned.