51. Richard Desmond

Job: chairman, Northern & Shell, proprietor, Express Newspapers Age: 58 Industry: publishing Circulation: 809,992 (Daily Star), 664,293 (Daily Express), 566,934 (Sunday Express), 352,187 (Daily Star Sunday) Worth: £950m 2009 ranking: 54 Whisper it quietly, but Richard Desmond is on the up. His Daily Star is one of the few national newspapers to show consistent circulation increases over the past few years, and his stable of celebrity magazines is booming . Desmond, who bought Express Newspapers a decade ago, is on the acquisition trail once again, saying he would like to buy the Sun and is also in the running to buy Channel Five . With a reported £1bn to spend – "I've got so much money it's ridiculous" – Desmond has embarked on another price war in the hope that the Star will overtake the circulation of the ailing Daily Mirror. What his newspaper empire lacks in credibility – a string of libel payouts included undisclosed damages to Peaches Geldof – it makes up for in sales of the Daily Star, boosted by price cuts and a penchant for stories about Katie Price . Desmond, who has a personal fortune estimated at £950m, is the former publisher of top-shelf titles such as Horny Housewives and Asian Babes and continues to own a stable of adult TV channels . "I'm frustrated because I know we can do more. We have loads of dough, we've got to do something," Desmond said in an interview earlier this year . "What the fuck am I going to do? I can't buy anything because nobody will sell me anything I want to fucking buy." There have been more cuts at Desmond's newspaper empire and, unlike the Daily Star, the Express's circulation has dwindled since he took it over. He also owns celebrity magazines including New!, Star and OK!, which has now established itself in the US and claims a global circulation of about 6m. Not exactly a conventional proprietor, Desmond has been accused of interfering in his newspaper's editorial decisions . He lost a high court battle with journalist Tom Bower last year over claims that he ordered staff at the Sunday Express to print a negative story about the disgraced press baron Conrad Black. Cigar-smoking Desmond styles himself "Mr Badger" and plays the drums with charity rock band the RD Crusaders . Desmond, who for a few years paid himself £1m a week, took a pay cut this year to £50,000. The 50% tax rate introduced by the last government was to blame, he explained. "There is no fucking point because you are just giving it away."