This is not the first time that Mr. Abramovich has topped UK ratings. At the end of last year, he was named London’s Personality of the Year 2003 by voters on the website of the Evening Standard newspaper.

The Duke of Westminster, the UK’s largest landowner with an estimated fortune of 4.63bn pounds, was ranked third in the Rich Report 2004. Bernie Ecclestone, the man behind Formula One, is in 7th place with 2.3bn pounds. Richard Branson, the owner of Virgin Airlines, was ranked 9th with 2.07bn pounds. The Queen of the UK is 26th with 1.05bn pounds.

Roman Abramovich’s popularity in Britain is no surprise: his name is often mentioned in local sports newspapers. Another question is how a Russian citizen and a top Russian official (Mr. Abramovich is Governor of the Chukotka region) got into the UK rich list.

The report's editor Rachel Oldroyd told the Mail on Sunday that the authors of the report used the following criteria: the candidates should have a UK passport, stay in the country for long periods of time and have business interests in the UK.

According to Mr. Oldroyd, although Mr. Abramovich is a Russian citizen, he is selling his business assets in Russia and planning to settle in Great Britain. In view of this, the businessman has already acquired a mansion in London for 5m pounds ($9.25m) and a country estate in Sussex for 12m pounds. In addition, British reporters say Mr. Abramovich wants his children to study in the UK.

According to Mail On Sunday, all information about Mr. Abramovich’s fortune was taken from open sources.

Roman Abramovich was ranked 25th in the latest Forbes rich list, with a fortune of $10.6bn, up from 49th position in 2003 ($5.7bn).