PREMIERSHIP footballers once again dominate the list of Britain's 1,000 richest people.

And the majority of them are based in the North-west of England.

Top of the soccer wealth league is Robbie Fowler, the 28-year-old Manchester City forward now worth a staggering £25 million - up from £12 million last year and due mainly to his growing property business.

He is joined by his former teammate, Liverpool striker Michael Owen, 24, who is also worth £25 million, an increase of seven million from last year.

Ryan Giggs, the 30-year-old Manchester United winger who lives in Blackrod, is at number three in the Rich List 2004, compiled by The Sunday Times.

Bury-born United brothers Gary and Phil Neville, aged 29 and 27, are at numbers seven and 11 respectively with a joint wealth of £11 million. Gary, who lives in Bolton, is the richer of the England internationals, having amassed £7 milllion.

There are 14 soccer stars from the North-west alone in the top 1,000. Among the new entries is 18-year-old Wayne Rooney from Everton Football Club on £3 million.

A spokesman for The Sunday Times said: "With David Beckham moving away, top spot in the under-30sportsmen was up for grabs. But it might be a surprise that Robbie Fowler assumes the mantle, and sees his fortune grow to £25m. The huge jump is as much down to clever property investment as to his on-field earnings.

"Manchester United have the most top earners in the list, with seven players worth in total £65m."

The 16th annual Sunday Times Rich List is based on identifiable wealth (land, property, other assets such as art and racehorses, or significant shares in publicly quoted companies).

A further 62 people from the North-west feature on this year's Rich List, published on Sunday, including six new entries.

The highest debutante is 47-year-old David Russell, who is worth £90m. One of nine children, David trained as a carpenter in Rochdale before making his fortune fitting kitchens. He then invested this money in Manchester warehouses and currently owns 90 per cent of Property Alliance.

The Kumar brothers, Rajan and Sanjay, are also new to the list with a joint wealth of £79m. Their Rajan Group, a Manchester-based fashion business founded by their father, made profits of £7.8m last year.