Sting and Mike Ashley are among the names with links to the North East in the UK's top 100 taxpayers, according to the latest list from the Sunday Times.
Russian-born billionaire Alex Gerko, who founded trading company XTX Markets and is said to be worth £2bn, took the top spot, paying an estimated £487.4m in tax. To put that into perspective, someone earning £30,000 a year will be taxed around £6,000 - meaning that about 81,000 people in the UK are collectively paying the same amount of tax as Gerko himself.
Denise Coates and her family, head of gambling empire Bet365, came second on the list, while Stephen Rubin and his family are in third place as the owners of the Speedo, Kickers and Berghaus brands. Former Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley earned the sixth spot, paying £133.5m in tax, while Wallsend-born superstar Sting is down at the 52nd position paying £25m.
