Tycoon Sir Ken keeps region's richest man title

Despite a drop in earnings of 70m, the retired supermarket mogul retains his place at the head of the region's top earners in this year's The Sunday Times Rich List.

The Morrison family's stake in the business he helped make a national chain was worth 1,405m this year after the supermarket boosted its profits by 31 per cent in the past 12 months to 7.8bn.

The overall wealth of the Yorkshire's top 10 has increased by 570m, rising from 6,339m to 6,909m, a move the Sunday Times report says mirrors the fortunes of the richest seen across the UK.

Second in the Yorkshire rich list are Eddie and Malcolm Healey – brothers who have made their millions from property deals and kitchens. Like Sir Ken they saw their earnings fall in 2009 but remain in the top two.

Younger brother Malcolm, 65, recently returned to the kitchen trade with Wren kitchens. He is said to have earned 600m after building up and then selling the Hygena Kitchens business.

His 72-year-old brother Eddie, meanwhile, is known principally for turning a piece of derelict land beside the M1 in Sheffield into the Meadowhall shopping centre.

Its sale in 1999 netted him a total of 420m and with other assets he is said to be worth 650m – bringing the brother's combined wealth to 1,250m, down 100m on last year.

The gains in the Yorkshire's rich list have been made elsewhere, with Robert Miller and Paul Sykes at the fore.

Robert Miller, who owns the Gunnerside estate in Swaledale, North Yorkshire, is the co-founder of the Duty Free Shoppers chain. Much of his wealth is, however, now tied up in Search Investment Group, which runs the Hong Kong-based hedge fund Sail Advisors – responsible for managing an estimated $2.3bn.

The American-born 75-year-old has British citizenship and has accumulated a diverse range of assetts over the years, ranging from steel mills in China to casinos in Italy. This year he is valued at 950m up 200m from last year.

Former property developer Paul Sykes saw his wealth grow by 100m after ploughing investment into forestry. With Eddie Healey he made significant money from the Meadowhall shopping centre development. The Sunday Times Rich List said there are 260m net assets in his Highstone Group and he is worth 650m in all.

Seventh in the Yorkshire Rich List is Lord Kirkham, who increased his wealth with the recent sale of his DFS furniture group. Meanwhile property magnate Michael Evans, industry tycoon Lawrence Tomlinson and business services boss Hamish Ogston all found themselves in the top 10.

This year's rich list shows improvements in earnings to the country's top earners. Last year the scale of the economic downturn was manifested in the fact that it took a 55m fortune to make it into the top 1,000 in the rich list, a figure 25m lower than in 2008.

The complete Sunday Times Rich List, based on identifiable wealth such as land, propert and other assets and excluding bank accounts, is released in full on Sunday.