Graham King, an Essex businessman known as the "Asylum King," has become a billionaire after his migrant-housing company's profits soared.
The founder of Clearsprings Ready Homes has seen his fortune jump by 35 per cent in the past year to £1.015 billion, making him one of the Rich List's new billionaires.
King made his debut on the Sunday Times Rich List only last year - ranking at No 221 with £750 million.
He now sits at position 154 in the 2025 list.
The founder of Clearsprings Ready Homes has seen his fortune jump by 35 per cent in the past year to £1.015 billion, making him one of the Sunday Times Rich List's new billionaires (stock image of migrant hotel)
Getty
His increasing wealth comes amid rising immigration, with net migration reaching 728,000 in the year ending last June.
The number of people claiming asylum climbed from 91,811 in 2023 to a record 108,138 last year.
More than 11,500 people have crossed the Channel in small boats this year, also a record.
A backlog in processing asylum claims has led to an estimated 38,000 asylum seekers being housed in 222 hotels and a further 66,000 in other accommodation.
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His increasing wealth comes amid rising immigration
PAClearsprings, founded in 1999 as a property company, operates from a nondescript blue office building in Rayleigh, Essex.
The company has secured lucrative government contracts, including a deal with the Home Office running until September 2029 to provide accommodation in the south of England and Wales.
This contract is estimated to be worth £7.3 billion, having previously been valued at £1 billion.
Clearsprings' profits jumped from £74.4 million to £119.4 million in the year ending January 2024.
King grew up in Canvey Island, Essex, where his father Jack ran a caravan park business that was later sold for £32 million in 2007.
Asylum centres and hotels have been popping up across BritainGOOGLEHe now reportedly lives in Mayfair and Monaco, with his brother Jeff also residing in Monaco.
King participates in Porsche Sprint Challenge events around Europe for "rookie and gentlemen drivers".
His company has faced criticism. In 2021, inspectors described two Clearsprings sites as having "decrepit", "impoverished" and "run down" conditions.
In 2023, over 70 people slept on the street in protest at two Clearsprings-run London hotels, claiming they had been crammed into tiny rooms.
GB News has approached Clearsprings Ready Homes for comment.
