SIR TERRY Matthews is being named as Wales' richest man for the eighth year in a row - despite seeing a whopping £871m wiped off his fortune.

Newport-born Sir Terry, pictured, has lost the massive amount in the troubles of the telecommunications industry which hit the share prices of his Alcatel business, according to the annual Sunday Times rich list.

But despite dropping out of the billionaire's list for 2002, Sir Terry is still the UK's 24th richest man with £828m, and remains tens of millions of pounds ahead of his nearest Welsh rival, West Wales fitness guru Albert Gubay, in this year's list published yesterday.

Sir Terry first topped the Welsh list in 1994, when, ironically, he was worth more money than he is today with a paper fortune of £897 million.

Economist Phillip Beresford, who compiles the annual list, said he cannot see a challenger to Sir Terry's position as Wales' richest man.

He said: "I do not think anyone will challenge him for a long while yet, unless a new entrepreneur comes along and pulls off some massive deals.

"And realistically, this will have to come from a Welsh person abroad because the economy in Wales simply is not large enough to generate such a large fortune.

"The way his fortune has fluctuated over the years has mirrored that of the telecommunications industry, going up and down all the time.

"But his other businesses, with deals in Canada and the Celtic Manor, are all doing very well so I don't think there's anything to worry about for Sir Terry."

Last year, Sir Terry also put in millions of pounds into the campaign which clinched the Ryder Cup 2010.

Gwent-born financier Sir Julian Hodge is the oldest person in this year's list aged 97, with the Jersey-based banker Wales' seventh richest man with a wealth estimated at £142m, a rise of £7m on last year.

"The bank has been doing spectacularly well," said Mr Beresford. "He is the oldest person in the list, and I am hoping that he will become the Rich List's first centenarian."

The success of the Welsh stars in Hollywood provides two major new entries on the list with Catherine Zeta Jones, now Britain's richest female star.

The Swansea born actress is Wales' 16th richest person, with a fortune of £50m - and that puts her ahead of Port Talbot's "Hannibal the cannibal" - Sir Anthony Hopkins, worth £40m.

The Hannibal Lector star, 64, whose mother Muriel lived in Newport for many years, pocketed £8m earlier this year after starring in the Silence of the Lamb's sequel.

Treforest singing star Tom Jones is Wales' eighth richest person - up £10m on last year to £110m.