Insider Media Limited

The wealth of the top 100 working millionaires in the Midlands has hit a new high of £15.8bn. The total – revealed in Midlands Business Insider's newly compiled 2011 Rich List - eclipses last year's £13.6bn total and easily beats the pre-credit crunch peak of £13.5bn in 2007.

The table has a new man at the top for 2011 after Phones4U founder John Caudwell was nudged into second place.

The main reason behind the 16.1 per cent increase in wealth is down to the success of the company which takes up the number one spot – yellow digger manufacturer JCB.

Sir Anthony Bamford's company more than doubled its profits in 2010 to £235m on much higher sales of £2bn. This came on the back of a record year in India and profits are expected to recover strongly.

JCB, based in Staffordshire, was founded by Bamford's late father in 1945. Insider values the business at £2bn.

Caudwell slips from the top to take up second place in this year's list, with his phone and property empire valued at £1.5bn.

His six separate Caudwell Properties operations made nearly £6.7m profit in 2009/10, a year in which he spent £80m on properties in London and elsewhere.

He said he is also looking at making private equity investments, which is now easily affordable having sold most of Caudwell Group in 2006 for £1.46bn.

This year's top ten is awash with property tycoons – half have made their fortune in the market.

Freddie Linett of Leicester's Charles Street Buildings; IM Group's Lord Edminston; developer Tony Gallagher and Roy Richardson join Caudwell as some of the wealthiest in the sector.

The youngest entrant in this year's top ten is Syston-based retailer Dunelm's Will Adderley. Curtains-to-cushions retailer Dunelm increased profits from £76.8m to £83.6m in 2010/11 on sales up sharply to £538.5m.

Bill and Jean Adderley started in 1979 selling ready-made curtains at a budget price on a market stall in Leicester, then progressed to opening small high-street shops across the East Midlands and the north of England in 1984.

They opened their first superstore in 1991, helped by their son Will, who joined the business after university. The family stake is worth £532m. They sold £150m worth of shares at and after the float. Past dividends, including a £13.5m dividend for 2010/11, take the family to £705m.

The full Rich List detailing all 100 entrants is available in next month's Midlands Business Insider, on sale on 24 November.