Christopher Harborne — the crypto backer better known in Thailand as Chakrit Sakunkrit — has surged into the UK’s upper echelons of wealth as political scrutiny tightens around a high-profile gift to Reform UK leader Nigel Farage.
The Sunday Times’ 2026 Rich List, published Friday, places Harborne sixth in the UK with an estimated fortune of about $24.4 billion (£18.2 billion). Most of that wealth stems from a reported 12% stake in Tether, the issuer of the USDT stablecoin, which market-watchers peg at roughly $200 billion. Tether itself posted $1.04 billion in profit in Q1 this year, and reported a reserve buffer of $8.23 billion alongside nearly $192 billion in reserve assets. Harborne’s lawyers say he owns stakes in both Tether and sister company Bitfinex but “has no operational role” at either firm.
The Rich List also names Harborne the richest person in the North of England and Yorkshire — his estimated fortune reportedly exceeds the combined wealth of the rest of Yorkshire’s top 10 — and the wealthiest British-born person on the 2026 list, despite living in Thailand for more than 20 years and holding Thai citizenship under his Thai name.
The ranking arrives as Harborne’s political giving is under the microscope. He has emerged as a major financier of Reform UK, donating roughly $16.1 million to the party overall, including a roughly $12.1 million contribution late last year that was described at the time as the largest single political donation by a living individual in British history. Separately, UK media reported a $6.7 million (£5 million) personal gift from Harborne to Nigel Farage — a payment that has triggered a formal inquiry by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards.
Parliament has opened an active Rule 5 investigation into whether Farage should have declared that reported $6.7 million gift, which was reportedly made before he stood in the 2024 general election. Under Commons rules, new MPs must register current financial interests and any registrable benefits received in the 12 months before their election within one month. Parliament lists Farage’s probe as an investigation for “failure to register an interest”; no findings have been published.
Farage has said the payment was an “unconditional, non-political, personal gift” intended to cover his security costs and insisted he was “under no obligation” to register it. In comments reported by The Sun, he described the payment as “a reward for campaigning for Brexit for 27 years” and denied that donations influence his views, citing an anecdote about declining money from another wealthy individual. The Guardian later reported that Farage paid roughly $1.9 million in cash for a property shortly after receiving the gift; Reform UK responded that the sale process and proof-of-funds checks began before the gift was received.
Decrypt contacted both Harborne and Farage for comment. Harborne’s lawyers have reiterated his investor-only role at Tether and Bitfinex. The Parliamentary Standards Commissioner told Decrypt it publishes the names of MPs under investigation and brief details of the alleged Code of Conduct breaches; Farage’s inquiry is currently listed without a published finding.
This story sits at the intersection of crypto wealth and UK politics: a major Tether investor now ranks among Britain’s richest while giving that has reshaped a political party is being formally reviewed for compliance with parliamentary rules. We will update this report if Harborne or Farage respond or if Parliament publishes findings.
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