'Ol' pirates, yes, they rob I.' That might very well be the tune being sung by Chris Blackwell, the music magnate who turned Jamaican reggae icon Bob Marley into a superstar.

Blackwell, founder of Island Records, and former heavyweight boxing champ Lennox Lewis are 'British Jamaicans' who are among many whose wealth has taken a nosedive because of the global economic downturn, according to The Sunday Times' Rich List for 2009.

Shed £20 million

Blackwell, who ranks joint 694th in the United Kingdom newspaper's list of that country's richest 1,000 personalities, has shed £20 million of his net worth, now totalling £80 million, compared to the corresponding period in 2008.

However, the global recession's bite into other British millionaires and billionaires' wealth has caused Blackwell to rise almost 100 places up the Rich List ladder, from 784th last year.

Blackwell has a wide spread of investments, which include Strawberry Hill, Goldeneye and The Caves hotel in Jamaica.

Ex-boxer Lewis is richer than Blackwell, according to The Sunday Times list, ranking 600th with a net worth of £90 million. He has, however, lost £10 million.

Steel tycoon tops list

Indian steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal is still top of the pile with £10.8 billion, but he has lost more than half his wealth - £16.9 billion - largely because of the manufacturing slump across the world. Russian oil magnate and Chelsea Football Club boss Roman Abramovich is still No. 2, but he is down to his last £7 billion, bleeding £4.7 billion.

Not all has been doom and gloom. While Virgin Atlantic boss Sir Richard Branson has lost half his wealth, other entrepreneurs such as Simon Cowell of American Idol fame have got richer.

The Sunday Times Rich List is an annual publication which tallies the wealth of Britons or non-nationals who predominantly live or work in Britain. The Sunday Times values mainly personal assets, such as property - knowledge of which is in the public domain - but not bank accounts because it has no access.