Internet tycoons enter rich list

Internet tycoons are among Britain's richest people

Internet tycoons have broken into the list of Britain's richest people for the first time.

As many of the Sunday papers print their rich lists, internet entrepreneurs have crept into the higher echelons.

Thanks to the internet boom and the growth of dot.com companies, online whizzkids have made their presence felt among the more established names.

Martha Lane Fox, founder of lastminute.com, earns a pretty penny

The Mail on Sunday's "Rich Report 2000" has 18 internet entrepreneurs in its top 300 ranks for the first time.

Mike Lynch, head of software company Autonomy, is at number 28 on the list.

His market value has jumped from £50m to £750m in less than six months.

Terry Plummer and Wayne Lochner, who have made a fortune selling internet video games software to British telecommunications giant VodafoneAirtouch, also put in an appearance.

They are now worth £368m each - even though their business was heavily in debt a year ago, according to the paper.

£300m

The director of online travel reservation company ebookers.com also appears on the Mail's list.

Dinesh Dhamija has an estimated fortune of £153m.

The Sunday Times also reflects the change in the big earners.

Charles Nasser, 30, founded internet access company ClaraNET in 1996, which is now worth £300m, according to its rich list.

And Martha Lane Fox, 27, founder of online booking company lastminute.com also features on the list, with a personal fortune estimated at £30m.

Co-founder of lastminute.com Brent Hoberman came up with the idea when he found he never had time to plan anything such as holidays, and was always trying to arrange something at the last minute.

He put the concept to Ms Lane Fox and the pair eventually raised £600,000 from backers and launched in 1998.

Some analysts are predicting the company will be valued at over £800m when its shares are offered for sale on 14 March.