THE slump in the Internet has wiped almost £400m off the fortune of the North-East's richest man.

But despite this, Graham Wylie has maintained his position as the wealthiest person in the region.

The Sunday Times Rich List 2001, published tomorrow, reveals that Mr Wylie, of Newcastle, saw his fortune drop from £695m last year to £300m this year.

The co-founder of the Sage accountancy software company was hit by the Internet downturn, which has seen the fortunes of a number of dot.com millionaires dwindle.

Darlington FC chairman George Reynolds is number two in the list of the region's richest people, with a combined fortune of £260m.

The former safecracker has amassed his money through his worktops manufacturing business, and property, which includes his £7m Witton Hall home and £1.5m penthouse in London.

Mark Fenwick, whose family own the Fenwick department stores, has joined The Duke of Northumberland as the joint third richest person. His family's fortune is now estimated at £250m.

Despite his club's dismal season, Middlesbrough FC chairman Steve Gibson has retained his place in the top ten, with a wealth of £100m, the same as last year.

The full list of the 1,000 richest people in the country will be published in a special 104-page supplement in The Sunday Times.

The combined wealth of the 1,000 entrants, who need £35m to qualify, is £157bn.

This is almost £12bn more than last year, though it represents an increase of only eight per cent, which is one of the smallest increases in the 13 years since the list was compiled.

The list reveals that people in the sport, media and publishing worlds are beginning to make the sort of money that were once the preserve of Americans.

World heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis has risen to £75m on the back of successful title defences, while the popularity of the Harry Potter books has netted author JK Rowling a £65m fortune.

Sir Paul McCartney, boyfriend of former North-East model Heather Mills, cemented his status as the richest musician in Britain and now has a personal fortune of £713m, up from £550m in 2000.

Newcastle United captain Alan Shearer is the region's richest sportsman, with an est-imated wealth of £17m, up £2m.

The valuations for the Rich List were carried out in January this year.