Seven NRIs make it to the list of Britain’s top 500 earners

Another NRI, Rana Talwar, who received benefits and pension-fund payments of 3.2 million pounds after he was forced to quit as group Chief Executive of Standard Chartered Bank, comes next at 232nd position.

Husband and wife team of Ranjit Boparan (2.765 million pounds) and Baljinder Boparan (2.5 million pounds) also find places in the list. They are partners in Boparan holdings, the chicken processor, which made 12 million pounds profit on 227.7 million pounds sales in the year to the end of July 2001. According to the list Ranjit is the highest paid director, with a 265,000 pounds salary. Baljinder earned 2.5 million pounds in dividends.

Other NRIs figuring in the August list are Gurchait Chima and his brother Gurnaik Chima. Starting out on market stalls in Huddersfield, the brothers built up Bon Marche Holdings, the women’s fashion chain, into a multi-million-pound business.

They sold it in July to retailer Peacocks for 51.3 million pounds, netting 9.5 million pounds each in cash. Manish Chande along with British national Martin Myers, property entrepreneurs, each took a 4.1 million pounds dividends from Mychand Holdings, the company they set up, after it made an enormous 23.5 million pounds profit in the year to March 2001. Also figuring in the list is England soccer captain David Beckham, the highest-earning footballer in Britain by far. His 15.5 million pounds over the year puts him above the queen who earned 15.2 million pounds.