Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky, who is currently trying to buy Royal Mail owner International Distribution Services (IDS), saw his net worth rise by £2bn over the last year.
The jump in his net worth saw him rise in The Sunday Times Rich List from 47th to 33rd place.
Kretinsky is now reported to be worth around £6bn, which is composed of major investments in companies in energy, telecoms, media, football as well as a major stake in Royal Mail’s parent company.
Kretinsky, who is known as the Czech Sphinx, now sits above the likes of Sir Dennis and Lady Gillings and the majority owner of Tottenham Hotspur Joe Lewis in the UK’s annual rich list.
He started his business journey in 1999 joining European investment group J&T as a lawyer.
When J&T founded energy investment company Energetický a průmyslový holding (EPH) in 2009, Kretinsky became its chairman and held 20 per cent stake. He later took majority (94 per cent) ownership of EPH. He is also a chairman and 60 per cent shareholder of EP Industries, which is a rail and construction supplier.
He later went on to establish an investment vehicle VESA Equity Investment, which holds stakes in both Refinitiv and Sainsbury’s.
In 2021, he made news after jumping into the British football scene when he bought a 27 per cent stake in West Ham United, and now sits on the Premier League team’s board of directors.
However, he is currently dominating the headlines because of his attempts to takeover Royal Mail’s owner IDS, in which he holds a 27.6 per cent stake.
IDS said this week that it was “minded to recommend” the latest £3.5bn takeover bid from Kretinsky’s EP Group.