Ireland's wealthy getting richer

Anti-Poverty campaigner Bob Geldof is the surprise new entry into The Sunday Times list of Ireland's Richest Entertainers, new figures showed today.

The former lead  singer of the 1970s band The Boomtown Rats takes fifth place in the table, sitting on top of a fortune worth €51m. According to compilers of The Sunday Times Rich List 2006, his shares in his television production company Ten Alps have soared and he also has a €29m stake in reality TV production firm Castaway Productions.

U2 scooped first place in the list and are now worth an enviable €690m. Digital and album sales plus box office receipts earned the band over €215m last year alone. The profits were split five ways with an equal share going to manager Paul McGuinness.

Riverdancer Michael Flatley takes second place with €551m after the huge popularity of his Lord of the Dance and Celtic Tiger shows. He has earned at least €196m from these performances with an additional €147m coming from the value of his brand. He also has substantial other investments and a valuable property portfolio with homes in Co Cork, London, France and America.

Overall, Ireland's super rich saw their wealth jump by 15% - one of the highest increases in ten years. Such has been the growth in wealth over the last 12 months that to get onto the list in the first place, a person needs net assets of €35m. That is €10m more than last year.

The Sunday Times says that very high profits in construction and property firms and a rebound in commercial property values produced the highest number of super rich and new entrants this year.

The increase was also helped by strong stock market growth and a rebound in the value of technology, communications and retail companies. Rapidly growing and profitable sectors - like recycling - are created a number of new multimillionaires.