Anders Holch Povlsen tells Strathy: ‘Talking money isn’t interesting’

As The Sunday Times’ latest Rich List hit the newsstands, Scotland’s wealthiest man told the Strathy: “I wish I were not on these lists - there is not much positive about it.”

Anders Holch Povlsen, owner of Badenoch’s 42,000-acre Glenfeshie Estate - among others, both in the strath and well beyond - tops the list at an estimated worth of £7.704 billion

But he told us: “Just talking about money is not really interesting for anyone.

“Let’s do what is much more meaningful - talk a bit about WildLand and what’s happening around us.”

The Danish online clothing tycoon has long held a passion for restoring Scotland’s battered landscapes and acquired Glenfeshie in 2006.

He has since expanded his holdings to include 220,000 acres across 13 estates in the Highlands.

Glenfeshie Estate is a key part of his Wildland project, a 200-year vision for ecological restoration and rewilding of the Scottish Highlands, with the focus on restoring woodland and allowing natural processes to take over.

Besides Glenfeshie, his Wildland project encompasses a network of estates across the Highlands, including Gaick, Lynaberack, and Killiehuntly.

In the latest update from the conservation project published today, he explains that Wildland prioritizes ecological restoration over traditional sporting interests, shifting the focus from shooting to biodiversity:

“The regeneration of this wilderness will demand timescales more likely to be enjoyed in our children’s lifetime than by us in ours, but we know that we can help create the conditions necessary to allow natural processes to gain a foothold.

“It’s a simple fact that many estates across the Highlands have populations of deer far beyond that which the ecosystem can support. Deer browse young saplings before they have any chance to establish themselves.

“On land where our deer management is in hand, the regeneration of habitat and woodland has been nothing short of remarkable. The heart soars when the rebirth of these lands sees wildlife return. Sounds of rivers rushing and a sight of summer swallows swooping all suggests a soul stirring with eager vitality.”

Nature is miraculous in its ability to recover as soon as artificially high numbers of large herbivores are reduced, the laird stressed.

“Seeds that have lain dormant sleeping in the ground for decades, wake and germinate. Saplings in check emerge. It is as if nature recognises a helping hand and somehow knows that this is its time.

“Perhaps one day, this process of rehabilitation will be such that animals long absent from these lands – the lynx, the bear and wolves for example – may be able to return. While we will only support this if ways can be found for such species to coexist harmoniously with rural communities, exciting things are already happening. Hen harrier, goshawk and golden eagle are more and more a startling encounter across our wildlands. We have invested in our own satellite tagging to aid us in better understanding both the habits and reach of these iconic birds.”

Working with local river and fisheries trusts, Wildland is dedicated towards projects giving fish stocks the very best chance to replenish in numbers, he said.

At Glenfeshie estate, Wildland has more than doubled its own part of the Caledonian Pine Forest to more than 1600 hectares of entirely natural tree growth.

As for the Rich List, a family behind a company which distils some of the most iconic Scotch whisky brands in the world has ranked second

Glenn Gordon and his family, who own William Grant & Sons, have accumulated wealth of £6.398 billion which is an increase of £779 million on the previous year.

Mr Gordon is chairman of the business, which includes brands such as Glenfiddich and Balvenie, and is a descendant of the company’s founder William Grant who was born in Dufftown in 1839.

William Grant & Sons has remained in the family’s hands for well over a century although Mr Gordon is now based in Jersey.

Harry Potter author JK Rowling ranks eighth with wealth of £945 million while Georgia Toffolo, who is married to BrewDog entrepreneur James Watt, ranked top in Scotland for the richest under 40 category with a wealth of £425m.

The 10 wealthiest people in Scotland:

1) Anders Holch Povlsen - £7.704 billion

2) Glenn Gordon and family - £6.398 billion

3) Sir Ian Wood and family - £1.914 billion

4) Lady (Philomena) Clark and family - £1.656 billion

5) Mahdi al-Tajir - £1.643 billion

6) Sandy and James Easdale - £1.46 billion

7) The Thomson family - £1.446 billion

8) JK Rowling - £945 million

9) Sir Brian Souter and Dame Ann Gloag - £805 million

10) Lord Laidlaw - £730 million

This year has seen the biggest fall in the number of billionaires in the list’s 37-year history.

Robert Watts, compiler of the Sunday Times Rich List, said: “The Sunday Times Rich List is changing. Our billionaire count is down and the combined wealth of those who feature in our research is falling. We are also finding fewer of the world’s super rich are coming to live in the UK.”

The full Sunday Times Rich List for 2025 can be found here.

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