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John Fredriksen

Fredriksen, 62, bought the Old Rectory in Chelsea in 2001 for £40m but turned down a £140m offer by Roman Abramovich (qv) for the mansion last year. Norway’s richest man and the world’s largest tanker owner has a stake in the Frontline shipping business worth £445m, after he sold shares of £179m in 2004 and has also received £500m in dividends since 2003. Forbes valued Fredriksen, who has other businesses and properties around the globe, at £3.5 billion in its 2007 billionaires list.