KENT property tycoons Judith and Fergus Wilson are among the richest people in the country.

The Sunday Times Rich List 2004 places them 530th in the top 1,000 through their portfolio of houses in Ashford, Maidstone and Hawkinge, together worth £75m.

Mrs Wilson, 53, a former New Romney teacher who lives in Boughton Monchelsea, near Maidstone, owns 465 properties.

Her position places her alongside fellow millionaires Sir Anthony Hopkins, Englebert Humperdinck, Rod Stewart and The Duke of Rutland; and well above Jackie Collins, Lord Archer, Anita Roddick and David and Victoria Beckham.

Mrs Wilson was featured on the ITV programme, My First Million, which focused on her years at university and how she got her big break.

She is optimistic about the property market and expects it to rise to such an extent that that some owners will also become millionaires.

She said: "I am not selling any of my houses and am content at the moment to sit back and watch my property fortune go up by the hour."

Kent's richest man is Hans Rausing and family, with an amazing £4,950m. The Tetra-Pak billionaire owns, among other things, the 1,800-acre Morghew Farm estate in Tenterden.

He is ranked the third richest man in the country, only surpassed by The Duke of Westminster and Britain's richest man, Roman Abramovich.

Not far behind Mr Rausing, are Folkestone-based Saga brothers Roger and Peter De Haan who come 32nd in the list with £958m.

Frank Brake of Brake Brothers fame is listed at 166 with a wealth of £270m, having sold the business in 2002.

Ralph Gold, Kent-based member of the Gold family that runs the Ann Summers lingerie and sex toys business, as well as Gold Air International, an executive charter airline based at Biggin Hill, is 79th with £495m.

The Brett family, founders of the aggregates, paving and construction company with principal outlets in Canterbury and Cliffe, are in 466th place with an estimated £87m. In 2002, it made £8.9m profit on sales of £148.5m.

Brian Whitehouse, 67, chairman of the Kent-based motor group with outlets in Maidstone, Tunbridge Wells and elsewhere, has presided over sales of around £300m. The family is worth an estimated £55m.

Mick Jagger, Dartford's famous Rolling Stone, is in 223rd spot with £180m.

The Kent Messenger Groups' chairman Edwin Boorman appears in the list at 865 with £45m, alongside Pop Idol's Mr Nasty Simon Cowell, a regular visitor to the Appledore home of businessman brother John and his family.

Moni Varma, the Medway-based founder of Veetee Rice, is placed 916th with assets of £42m.

The Queen fell from 133rd position to 177th with wealth valued at £250m.

All the British super-rich pale beside the world's mega-rich, headed by Robson Walton, boss of the Wal-Mart supermarket chain -- including Asda -- with £54.2bn.

Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, is in second place with £25.3bn, with Warren Buffett, the investment guru, third with £23.3bn.