LONDON, April 26 (RIA Novosti) - Russian billionaire and Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich has kept his position as Britain's second richest man, although his fortune has fallen by more than 40%, a British paper reported on Sunday.

According to The Sunday Times 2009 Rich List, to be published soon, Abramovich's wealth has fallen from 11.7 billion British pounds ($17 billion) a year ago to just 7 billion British pounds ($10.3 billion) "on the back of collapsing shares in his steel and other investments."

According to the list, which includes persons born or based in the U.K., Indian-born steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal has kept his position as the U.K.'s richest man, although his wealth has plummeted by almost 17 billion British pounds ($24.9 billion) to 10.8 billion British pounds ($15.9 billion), down 61% in a year.

The richest British-born billionaire is the Duke of Westminster at number 3. His fortune has shrunk by just 7% to 6.5 billion British pounds ($9.6 billion), the paper said.

Overall, the number of billionaires in Great Britain has dropped from 75 to 43, The Sunday Times reported.