Fred & Peter Done have been revealed as the UK’s highest taxpayers as part of The Sunday Times Tax List 2026, with the Betfred owners having paid £400.1m ($549.2m) in tax contributions over the past year.
Indeed, this is not the first time a gambling family has topped the tax list, with bet365’s Denise Coates and the Coates family holding the top spot from 2019 to 2022. Last year also saw the Coates family top the rich list and place third in the tax list thanks to their £265m in contributions. This year marks the first time the Done family has ever finished top of the tax list after being the second-highest taxpaying entity last year.
In last year's list, the Betfred owners paid £273.4m in taxes, with the £400.1m paid in this year's list representing a notable 37.6% increase. The Coates family’s contributions landed them as the fifth-highest British taxpayers for 2026 – with the Betfred and bet365 owners representing the only two gambling-related entities to be included in the overall top 20 list.
Additional notable inclusions in the top 100 UK taxpayers saw J.K. Rowling contribute £47.5m, the 36th-highest in the nation, with footballers Erling Haaland (72) and Mohamed Salah (81) contributing £16.9m and £14.5m, respectively. Music star Harry Styles was also the UK’s 54th-highest tax contributor, paying £24.7m, followed by Ed Sheeran at number 64, who contributed £19.9m.
The list was put together by Robert Watts, who stated: “The Sunday Times Tax List features household names as well as some of our economy’s hidden heroes, quietly successful entrepreneurs who have set up companies employing hundreds of people and plugging vast sums into the public finances. This is an increasingly diverse list with Premier League footballers and world-famous pop stars lining up alongside aristocrats and business owners selling pies, pillows and baby milk.”
The development of the UK’s highest taxpayers list incorporates dividend, capital gains, corporation and income tax – as well as payroll taxes, alcohol and gambling duties.
All of the top 100 tax contributors in the 2026 list paid at least £11m
