Analysis has revealed that billionaire families with fortunes in energy and food production have amassed vastly more wealth since 2022, when Russia's invasion of Ukraine triggered a global cost of living crisis. Their wealth has grown four times faster for energy sectors and three times faster for food production compared to other super-rich families, raising questions about who has benefited from years of economic hardship for ordinary households. The research, commissioned by anti-poverty charity War on Want, examined 15 UK-linked families whose profits have soared alongside the rising costs of essential goods.

Key examples include François Perrodo's Perenco oil company, which has increased family wealth by approximately £3bn, and food industry figures such as chicken producer Ranjit Singh Boparan, whose wealth has tripled to over £2bn since 2022. Energy and food price increases—driven by climate shocks, geopolitical tensions and conflict—have been substantial: gas prices remain 31% higher than January 2020, whilst UK food prices rose 38.6% between November 2020 and November 2025. The analysis found that increases in these billionaires' wealth consistently coincided with rising profit margins at their businesses, suggesting they have directly profited from the hardship facing British households struggling with basic living costs.