Charitable donations propelled the Barclay brothers to knighthoods

They are in joint 42nd place with meat tycoons Lord and Edmund Vesty, in the Sunday Times list of Britain's richest.

In January, the Barclays made a much-publicised unsuccessful �260m bid for Lord Black's Hollinger Group, which includes The Daily Telegraph.

It takes the top CI spot from Guernsey-based David Rowland, whose �660m fortune remains at last year's level.

Fortune remains

While unsuccessful in their bid for the Hollinger Group, it did not stop the combined estimated wealth of the brothers, who live on the island of Brecqhou, growing by �100m in the last year to a total of about �750m.

This was thanks to interests in publishing, retail, gambling, property and shipping businesses.

Twenty rich list members linked with the Channel Islands have a combined wealth of more than �3.5bn.

David Rowland made his first �1m at the age of 23. But now the 58-year-old leaves the day-to-day running of the family investments to his son, Jonathan.

Jersey's largest private landowners, the Clarke family, are number three in a Channel Islands-only list also compiled by the Sunday Times.

Divorce settlement

The family has restructured a lot of its business interests since the death of the patriarch, Fred Clarke.

The C Le Masurier wine and spirits business has been sold and further disposals are likely.

Construction entrepreneur Steve Morgan is still highly placed at number four in the local list, with an estimated wealth of �320m.

However, his ex-wife, Pamela Morgan, has propelled herself into the list thanks to one of Britain's biggest divorce settlements.

The full settlement terms have never been officially released, but she is thought to have received �100m, including a �6m Jersey home and a 26% share in the Redrow construction company.

Jersey-based Brian DeZille, in sixth place, is rumoured to be selling his 55-metre yacht, Amnesia.

This apparently is not down to the losses incurred in his Norwich fitness business, which has taken his fortune down to �125m, but because the 70-year-old wants to buy an even bigger one.