Record number of under 30s now earning more than £1m a year

The number of wealthy under 30s earning more than £1 million a year has reached a record high, figures from HMRC show.

Official government data has revealed there are 830 British people receiving more than a million a year, while over 15,000 are earning more than £150,000.

Before the pandemic those figures stood at 650 and 13,400 respectively.

Lubbock Fine, an accountancy firm that obtained the data, said the rise in younger millionaires was driven by higher deals for sports, music, and media stars. It said boosts to salaries across technology and financial services have caused the rise in those earning more than £150,000.

The company found that the average Premier League footballer salary was £3.6 million a year. This figure is more than double the average of Spain’s La Liga, the next highest-paid league, at £1.7 million. More than 1,000 players are registered with Premier League clubs the majority of whom are under 30.

Erling Haaland, the prolific 23-year-old Manchester City striker, is the highest paid Premier League player aged under 30, commanding a salary of £19.5 million, according to Spotrac, a data firm.

Raheem Sterling, 29, the Chelsea and England winger, earned £16.9 million, whereas Jack Grealish, 28, of Manchester City, and Marcus Rashford, 26, of Manchester United, both received £15.6 million a year putting them in the top-six salaries in the league.

Dua Lipa, 28, the singer, is thought to be the richest pop star under 30 with a wealth of more than £75 million. Millie Bobby Brown, 20, is the highest-paid young British actor, with a net worth of £20 million after starring in the Netflix drama Stranger Things.

According to The Sunday Times Rich List, Johnny Boufarhat, 29, a technology businessman who created the video-conference app Hopin, and cashed in shares last year worth £162.5 million, is reportedly worth £1.7billion. The business’s value dropped after the rich list was published with its core assets sold for $50 million (£39 million).

Christian Owens, 28, co-founder of the payment software firm Paddle, is said to be worth £101 million.

Lubbock Fine advises young high earners in sport to learn from the mistakes of previous generations and try to save for their retirement.

Russell Rich, the head of sports and entertainment at the firm, told The Times: “The relative short duration of their careers makes it all the more important ... to establish a financial plan early on. For those enjoying high earning power at a young age, the temptation to spend on rapidly depreciating assets like supercars may prove too great.

“This will only leave them with much less to fall back on when it is time for them to retire.

“And one of the cruellest fates of all must be a return to poverty having briefly realised those young dreams.”