The Coates family have been officially named as the richest people in the Midlands, according to the new edition of The Sunday Times Rich List.

Goldenhill-born Peter Coates and his family founded gambling company, bet365, in 2000 from a Stoke-on-Trent car park.

Led by his daughter, Denise Coates, Etruria-based bet365 has grown into one of the world's largest online gambling companies, with its reported figures to March 2010 showing amounts wagered on sports at £5.4 billion.

Denise, together with her brother John, continue to run bet365 today and Peter holds the position of chairman.

Their combined estimated wealth is put at £8.795bn, up £158 million on the previous year, and ranked 16th in this year's Rich List.

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