The Sunday Times published the 2009 UK 'rich list' last weekend. As you would expect many people have seen their fortunes dwindle over the past year due to the global recession. But there are a few food industry winners.

Sir Ken Morrison and family have leapt 36 places up the list to position no. 16, increasing their wealth by 11% to £1,610m.

Lord Sainsbury and his family haven't fared so well however. Whilst they increased their ranking from 56= last year to 37= their wealth has decreased by £200m to a mere £1,100m.

Food recycling can also be a profitable business. Another winner in this year's list is Anthony de Mulder and his family. Doncaster-based Prosper de Mulder is a waste food recycling specialist, collecting and processing more than 1m tonnes each year. The family has seen an increase of £45m up to £130m over the past year.

The world rankings paint a very rosy picture for Karl and Theo Albrecht, the German entrepreneurs who founded the discount supermarket chain Aldi. They increased their wealth by £2.9bn to £27.9bn and come into at no. 2 behind the Walton family who created Walmart and who enjoyed a whopping £13.9bn rise in riches over the past year giving them a family fortune of £52.3bn.

The top 2 families in the world rankings are heavily committed to the discount market. Should the rest of the food industry sit up and take note? We'd love to hear your views...