Duke tops North East rich list

Alnwick Castle appears in the Harry Potter films

The owner of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry has been revealed as the richest person in the North East of England.

The Duke of Northumberland - who has a fortune of £300m - owns Alnwick Castle, which is hired out as the set for the Harry Potter films.

Land underpins the Duke's wealth, but he also has a valuable art collection which includes Titians, Turners and Van Dycks.

Twenty of the 1,000 entries in the Sunday Times Rich List 2003 were born, live, or have their interests based in the North East of England - up from 17 last year.

Graham Wylie, who topped the regional list in 2002, fell to sixth place after his wealth decreased by £200m.

The North East's richest people The Duke of Northumberland - £300m Mark Fenwick - department stores - £282m Duncan Bannatyne - nursing homes/health clubs - £115m Sir Richard Storey and family- newspapers - £100m Alastair and Michael Powell - electrical contracting - £105m

Sage Group, the Newcastle-based management software group he co-founded in 1981, has suffered from the fall in high-tech values.

Mr Wylie recently announced his retirement from the company at the age of 43.

Other notable entrants include Sir Richard Storey and family, the non-executive director of Sunderland football club who made his money through newspapers with £110m.

Steve Gibson, chairman of Middlesbrough football club is eighth on the North East list with £85m.

He left school at 17, was a local Labour councillor by the age of 21, and founded the haulage firm Bulkhaul at 22.

Investor Carol Galley is a new entry into the top ten with £80m along with Sir Peter Vardy who made his fortune in the car sales business.