Sussex's two richest men increased their wealth by £270 million last year.

Although it was not such good news for the third richest man, Viscount Cowdray, whose fortune fell by £515 million in just 12 months, according to an annual rich list.

Tetra Pak magnate Hans Rausing, who lives in Wadhurst, was named the 12th richest person in Britain yesterday, with an estimated wealth of £4.3 billion.

Although it was a drop of one place from his 2011 entry in the Sunday Times rich list, he still increased his fortune by £100 million.

The 86-year-old is known to spend tens of millions a year supporting local charities in his adopted home county of East Sussex.

Sir Paul McCartney’s company MPL Communications reported a £12.9 million profit, which helped boost his own wealth to £170 million.

The increase from last year’s figure is also partially due to his marriage to Nancy Shevell, who has an estimated family wealth of £150 million.

McCartney has a home in Peasmarsh, near Rye.

Viscount Cowdray, who lives in Cowdray Park House, near Midhurst, saw his fortune drop to £500 million – from more than £1 billion, according to the list.

Cowdray Park House was put on the market in September 2010 for £25 million but a buyer has not been found.

The 67-year-old plans to move to a smaller house on his 16,500-acre estate.

But he was in the minority, as the list showed that the rich got richer.

The wealthiest 1,000 people in the UK are now worth a record £414 billion.

Bucking the double-dip recession and record unemployment, the super-rich have so far enjoyed a great 2012, with the combined wealth of the richest 1,000 now standing at £414.26 billion.

The figure represents a 4.7% rise on last year and surpasses the previous high of £412.85 billion in 2008, set months before the financial crash from which the rest of Britain has yet to fully recover.

There are 77 billionaires in the 2012 rich list this year, two more than the previous record of 75 in 2008 and the threshold to even be among the 1,000 richest people in Britain rose by £2 million on last year – with individuals needing at least £72 million to make the list.

Next in the list of the Sussex rich is Simon Fuller, who has an estimated wealth of £375 million.

The 51-year-old, who was born in Hastings, was paid £35 million by Fox TV for the UK rights of his Pop Idol format, said to be the world’s biggest TV franchise. The entertainment and music mogul is currently working on a Spice Girls musical called Viva Forever, which is due to open next year.

Rod Aldridge’s personal wealth is said to stand at £110 million.

The 64-year-old floated the £4.5 billion Capita outsourcing business. His Aldridge Foundation sponsors Brighton Aldridge Community Academy and Portslade Aldridge Community Academy. He was a former pupil at the latter school before it became an academy.

He said when the first academy was given the go-ahead: “As a former pupil, it will be a real privilege to be able to put something back into the community.”

Brighton-born poker player Tony Bloom was not in the list. The Brighton and Hove Albion chairman invested £95 million in the development of The American Express Community Stadium.

Nationally steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal, 61, has seen 27% wiped off the value of his family fortune in the last year as a result of the dramatic drop in the share value of his principal business, the giant steel producer ArcelorMittal.

The Mittals have now been number one in the rich list continuously since 2005.

British-born billionaires, including diamond retailer Laurence Graff, Sir Richard Branson, head of the Virgin empire, bag-less vacuum cleaner inventor Sir James Dyson and JCB owner Sir Anthony Bamford, have enjoyed sharp rises in their fortunes.

The richest woman is Staffordshire-born former Miss UK Kirsty Bertarelli, who shares a £7.4 billion fortune with her husband Ernesto.

Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich came in third with £9.5 billion, down £800 million on last year.

His ex-wife Irina was named 482nd, having received a £155m divorce settlement from her husband in 2007.

She was given a £12 million West Sussex estate as part of the agreement.

The wealthiest Briton is the Duke of Westminster, in seventh place with an estimated £7.35 billion thanks to his central London property empire.

Singer Adele – worth £20 million – has been named the wealthiest young musician.

The 23-year-old recently moved to Sussex to be with her Brighton-based boyfriend, charity boss Simon Konecki.

She owns a house in Western Esplanade, Portslade.

Last year she was said to be worth £6m but has shot up to 20th in the list of rich people under 30.