Britain`s 20 richest south Asians are worth nearly seven and a half billion pounds combined, according to an annual list published Wednesday which ranks metal magnate Lord Swraj Paul top.

Paul, who was born in India, is chairman of Caparo Group, a global steel, engineering and property development business. He and his family are worth 1.5 billion pounds (1.8 billion euros, 2.3 billion dollars), the list said.

In second place are the leaders of last year`s list, Mike Jatania and family, whose Lornamead Group owns beauty brands including Yardley and Woods of Windsor. They are said to be worth one billion pounds.

Third are Vijay and Bhikhu Patel, who run the Waymade Healthcare company and are worth some 750 million pounds, according to the list.

The rankings were drawn up by the Ethnic Media Group to coincide with Wednesday night`s Eastern Eye Asian Business Awards in London.

Lakshmi Mittal, the Indian steel tycoon who topped the annual Sunday Times Rich List for the whole of Britain with a reported 27.7 billion pound fortune, and the Hinduja brothers, originally from India and worth a reported 6.2 billion pounds, are not included.

List organisers said this was because their wealth and influence are more international than British-focused.