East Anglia's richest people have been revealed in this year's Sunday Times Rich List.

Kirsten Rausing, who owns a third of multinational company Tetra Laval, tops the list for both Suffolk and East Anglia with a net worth of £12billion - down £1billion compared to last year.

The 68-year-old Swedish-born businesswoman is the granddaughter of Ruben Rausing, the founder of food packaging firm Tetra Pak.

Although she was down £1bn, she is still nearly £10bn richer than the second richest person in East Anglia, Douw Steyn.

Mr Steyn, who founded the Peterborough-based financial services firm BGL, has a net worth of £2.1bn – which is up £50million.

Jon Hunt remains the third richest person in the region.

East Anglian Daily Times: Jon Hunt founder of Foxtons estate agencyJon Hunt founder of Foxtons estate agency (Image: Archant)

The 67-year-old businessman made his fortune as the founder of estate agency Foxtons before selling the business for £375m in 2007.

Mr Hunt, who owns Heveningham Hall near Halesworth, saw his net worth rise £91m from £1.345bn to £1.436bn.

The Earl of Iveagh who is the owner of the Elveden Hall estate, is the fourth richest person in East Anglia.

Elveden Hall is a popular destination for film crews and Hollywood stars as Gal Gadot and Jamie Dornan were at the hall filming for a new Netflix film.

The Earl’s wealth rose £66m to £1bn.

Mike Lynch, who recently lost a multibillion-dollar fraud case against Hewlett Packard over its acquisition of British software company Autonomy, founded by Suffolk's Mr Lynch a decade ago, also features on the list.

East Anglian Daily Times: Entrepreneur Mike Lynch pictured at Ipswich waterfrontEntrepreneur Mike Lynch pictured at Ipswich waterfront (Image: Archant)

Although he lost the case he is the fifth wealthiest person in East Anglia as his net worth went up by £123m to £998m.

Dropping a place, Patricia Thompson is now the sixth richest person in the region as her net worth stayed the same at £869m.

East Anglian Daily Times: Patricia Thompson (middle) pictured after her horse won the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup Chase at the Cheltenham Festival at Cheltenham RacecoursePatricia Thompson (middle) pictured after her horse won the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup Chase at the Cheltenham Festival at Cheltenham Racecourse (Image: PA Wire/PA Images)

Ms Thompson is the co-owner of Cheveley Park in Newmarket – a thoroughbred racehorse ownership and breeding operation and is believed to be one of the oldest in the British racehorse capital.

Leicester-born Alfie Best is the wealthiest newcomer in the East Anglian Rich List, with a £700m family fortune.

The 52-year-old founded Essex-based Wyldecrest Parks in 2001 and it is now Europe’s largest park home operator.

The other East Anglian Rich List newcomer is Newmarket-based transport and park home operator Paul Day, worth £668m.

Robert Watts, who compiled the Rich List, said it was “surprising” to see the wealth of people in the list rise this year, given issues of Covid, the Ukraine war and other factors.

He said: “We have seen an 8pc rise in the wealth of people on the list and we have a record number of billionaires.

“We weren’t really expecting that – we thought Covid and Ukraine might have a greater effect.

“It is unsettling and there is a real, growing concern that this is a class that is divorced from things like rising petrol prices, energy bills and the cost of food.

"What I think is interesting in East Anglia is that there are two sides to it.

"You've got this dichotomy between inherited wealth that has been passed down from generation to generation, but also self-made entrepreneurial talents.

"You've got people like the Earl of Iveagh, but then there are others like Jon Hunt, who found the Foxtons estate agency. People are a lot more comfortable with that."