Some of the country's most rich and famous men and women seem to be making Wiltshire their home.

According to the 2004 Rich Report, the county's wealthiest resident is leading inventor and designer Sir James Dyson, whose bagless vacuum cleaner led him to a £380 million fortune.

Last year Mr Dyson spent £15 million purchasing the 51-bedroom Dodington Park in Gloucestershire but he has failed to find a buyer for his £4.5 million former home in Malmesbury where the Dyson firm is based.

But Mr Dyson is in 105th place, down from 87th place last year despite his fortune being up £30 million.

At 206th out of 300 places is pop-diva Madonna and husband, film director Guy Ritchie who have homes in London, Hollywood and a country estate, Ashcombe House, near Salisbury.

Their combined wealth of £200 million has fallen from £210 million due to lower album sales and a reduction in the value of Madonna's record label Maverick Records.

Joining Madonna in the music stakes is singer and songwriter Sting, 52 who lives in Wilsford-cum-Lake, near Salisbury.

He is now worth £180 million from £158 million last year and is now in 230th place. The yoga loving-father of six earned £23.4 million from his property company Steerpike and recently added the £5.7 million home of Labour MP Shaun Woodward to his portfolio of exclusive worldwide properties.

In 242nd place is the Marquess of Bath, 71, who is believed to be worth around £165 million up from £146 million last year.

Making up around £140 million worth of this wealth is the Marquess' art collection and rare books while Longleat estate and its 9,000 acres and safari park are worth a further £16 million.

Only 7.3 per cent of Rich List entrants live in the South West of England. Nearly 34 per cent live in London and 22 per cent in the South East.

Other notable Wiltshire millionaires include Swindon-raised pop-star turned actress Billie Piper, wife of Chris Evans. He is worth £35 million but is not on the Rich List

Rock star and co-founder of Genesis, Peter Gabriel, also has a home in the county, as does former Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason, although neither appear on this year's list.

Topping the list, which was compiled for the Mail on Sunday, is Russian oil and aluminium magnate Roman Abramovich, who bought Chelsea Football Club last year.

At just 37 he is worth around £7.2 billion.

Anthony Osborne