Rich in history, architecture and culture, Harrow is also rich in the more literal sense – In a recent survey, Harrow was number three on the list of London boroughs with the largest number of millionaires, topped only by Barnet and Kensington & Chelsea.
Industry
In 2017, 19 year old Akshay Ruparelia from Harrow made headlines when his property company Doorsteps was valued at £12 million.
Akshay who started his business while studying for his A Levels and also caring for his parents who are deaf, has so far sold over £120 million worth of property.
Doorsteps is just one of Harrow’s hugely successful businesses – other multi-million pound businesses include fund management company Orlando Ltd (valued at £7.2 million) plus Hestdrive Ltd, Ripro Health UK and ALAA Engineering Design and Contract Ltd, both valued at over £10 million.
Of course, when it comes to earnings, not many businesses in Harrow could hope to beat the famous Harrow School which takes in a staggering £26.3 million in school fees every year.
The school’s high fees are possibly justified by the number of millionaires that it produces including pop star James Blunt, and actor Benedict Cumberbatch.
Adding to the mix of millionaires within Harrow is, of course, the unusually high number of celebrities who still live in the borough.
Kaye Burley of Sky news lives on the hill at The Squirrels, an exclusive development in which property prices start from a cool £1,718,000.
A quick online property search of the borough reveals an unparalleled number of properties selling for over £1 million with several houses in the much sought after Harrow On The Hill selling for up to £5 million, giving an idea of how many individuals with a huge private worth are living in the borough.
The ones that got away
Unfortunately there are those who made their millions and then migrated to other parts of the country and overseas
Multi-millionaire and Old Harrovian Aubrey de Grey is a biomedical theorist who says that he’s cracked the code that will allow people to live to the ripe old age of 1000! Sadly, de Grey moved his millions from Harrow to California’s silicone valley where he has gained a huge following.
Multi-millionaires who also decided to leave the borough include George Michael, fashion designer Vivienne Westwood and Dev Patel.
Of course, where there are millionaires, there are wannabes – in 2007, Harrow schoolboys Alex and Seb Cater made headlines when they announced a £9 million Euromillions win and started a Facebook page ‘Who wants to marry the Cater brothers now we’re millionaires?’
Unfortunately after hundreds flocked to the site, the brothers, who are the sons of Cathay Pacific Airlines executive, Richard Cater, were forced to admit that the whole thing was a joke that had got out of hand.
Who wants to be a millionaire?
In an age of e-commerce and innovation, we’re almost certain to see an increase in millionaires within the borough – for those hoping to raise their very own millionaire, check out the YOUNG ACHIEVERS ENTREPRENEUR PROGRAMME USING INNATE INTELLIGENCE
Image: bradstowehouse.com