The tough economic conditions of the past year are believed to have taken their toll on Sir David and Sir Frederick's core business interests of publishing, tourism and property, resulting in a 41% drop in their total wealth, now down to £1bn.
The brothers will remain in 40th position overall, however, following a year in which the UK, North America and much of Europe has fallen into recession, and few people have significantly increased their wealth.
Among the names able to buck the trend are those tied to natural resources, including oil and diamond specialist Tony Buckingham, who is up 31% to £251m.
Other high-profile media moguls expected to see a decline in their fortunes in this year's list include Richard Desmond, owner of Express Newspapers and founder of Northern & Shell (home to OK!, New! and the Star), who last year ranked 35th with wealth estimated at £1.9bn, and Felix Dennis, founder of Dennis Publishing (publisher of The Week, Viz and Evo), who ranked just outside the Sunday Times' top 100 last year with an estimated worth of £750m.
The degree to which this year's Rich List has been affected by the economic downturn is underlined by the fact it takes just £55m to make it into the top 1,000, compared to £80m in 2008. This is the first time the threshold has fallen since 2003.
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