THE top 20 wealthiest people in our region have been revealed.

The Sunday Times Rich List 2014 puts vacuum pioneer Sir James Dyson top of the pile, with an estimated wealth of £3billion.

Dyson is currently in the process of doubling the size of his research facility in Wiltshire, while in Somerset, Peter Hargreaves' net worth of a cool £2.39billion puts him second on the list.

He is closely followed by business partner and sports tycoon Steve Lansdown, who together founded financial advice firm Hargreaves Lansdown, at third on the list with £1.45billion. 

The top 21 in the South-West are worth £14.329billion collectively.

One new billionaire in the region, who has seen his wealth more than double in the past year, is Chris Dawson, the man behind The Range discount chain.

His wealth has climbed from £585m last year to £1.28billion this year, a staggering gain of £695m in just 12 months.

See below for the full list for the West Country, which will be published in this week's Sunday Times (May 18).

  1. Sir James Dyson and family (£3billion)
  2. Peter Hargreaves (£2.39billion)
  3. Steve Lansdown (£1.45billion)
  4. Chris Dawson (£1.28billion)
  5. Lord Vestey and family (£720million)
  6. Christina Ong and family (£602million)
  7. Sir David McMurtry (£559million)
  8. Julian Dunkerton (£478million)
  9. Tom Singh and family (£430million)
  10. Charlotte Townshend (£410million)
  11. Andrew Nisbet and family (£357million)
  12. Harry Hyams (£312million)
  13. Barry Houghton (£310million)
  14. Bruce Craig (£300million)
  15. Geoffrey Kent (£273million)
  16. John Deer (£268million)
  17. Andrew Brownsword (£260million)
  18. Michael Cannon (£250million)
  19. Adam Norris (£230million)
  20. Stephen and Peter Bond (£225million), Lance Clark and family (£225million)