Paula grabs the pile of newspapers. She must surely be one of the 350 richest people in Britain by now! She has made so much money from teaching billionaires to meditate: £340m to be exact. But as she leafs through the Sunday Times Magazine her hopes fade - and there at the bottom of the list is Lewis Hamilton with £350m. Drat!

At the top of the list are Gopi Hinduja and his family, with £37.196bn. Also in the top five is Sir James Dyson, whose £17.2bn comes mainly from vacuum cleaners.

Many on the list have profited from family fortunes built over decades, if not centuries. The Duke of Westminster, with £10.127bn, owns most of the Belgravia area of London, thanks to a marriage made by one of his ancestorsThe people related to us who lived a long time ago. in 1677.

But others come from humbleBeing modest, or not thinking oneself to be very important. backgrounds and have made their money from very unglamorous things. Alfie Best's £947m fortune, which has increased by £202m in the past year, is based on caravan parks. The Shepherd family have made £1.104bn from Portaloos.

John Bloor left school at 15 and trained as a plasterer. He has made £3.396bn from building houses - the first before he was 20 - and Triumph motorbikes.

Sir Anwar Pervez worked seven days a week as a bus driver in Bradford after emigratingMoving out of a country. from India. He then built up a chain of convenience stores and is now worth £2.599bn.

Jim and Sandy Easdale grew up in a tiny house and started working in their father's scrapyard while they were at school.¹ As teenagers they worked for a taxi company which they later bought, before moving into property. Their wealth is put at £1.45bn.

Alex Loven was in his teens when he sold his first football goals and nets; he has now made £200m from them. And Tim Knowles was an 18-year-old shelf-stacker when he bought an old fishmonger's shop as the start of his property empire.   

Yes: Certainly, as long as they are super-focused and hard-working. The list includes many people who have started out with nothing and made a fortune by grasping whatever opportunities came their way.

No: You have to have a business brain, not just to make money but to keep it. People who inherit money or make it through talents like singing can end up with very little if they are badly advised.  

Or... Putting in the work you need to make a lot of money can put pressure on your relationships with friends and family - so it might be better to be poor and spend more time with them.

Ancestors - The people related to us who lived a long time ago.

Humble - Being modest, or not thinking oneself to be very important.

Emigrating - Moving out of a country.