Come on Ridley

If money is the root of all evil, then Carlos Slim Helu is one bad-ass son of a bitch. The Mexican businessman stands at the top of the Screen International film rich list, with assets listed at $11.2bn. No, I hadn't heard of him either - but that's because he's less of a film mogul than an all-purpose money-maker, running an empire that includes everything from telecoms to coffee houses.

More familiar movie names on the list include: Italian magnate Silvio Berlusconi ($7.2bn), who recently got into a slanging match with film-makers Roberto Benigni and Nanni Moretti after he took control of 90% of Italian TV; Hong Kong cinema stalwart Sir Run Run Shaw ($1bn), whose Golden Harvest company has been churning out the fists of fury for over four decades, and Australia's Kerry Packer ($2.5bn), who is principally remembered for ruining cricket in the 1970s, but has remained a media tycoon ever since.

 Film directors Ridley and Tony Scott have been named as the richest and most powerful movers and shakers in the UK film industry.

The brothers are worth £75m between them, more than anybody else involved in making and financing films in the country, according to a new rich list.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, also head of media company Mediaset, is the wealthiest person involved in film financing outside the United States, with a $7.2bn (£4.9bn) fortune.

 Since the whole exercise is an attention-grabbing Cannes stunt, and deliberately excludes Americans, no direct comparisons between the likes of Berlusconi and Hollywood super-magnates like Steve Jobs are possible.

The list was compiled by industry paper Screen International, and excluded actors so it could concentrate on the influential people behind the scenes.

Ridley and Tony Scott have risen from their Northumberland upbringing to reach the top of the Hollywood ladder with a string of big movies.

Ridley began his career with Alien more than 20 years ago, and has since found success with Blade Runner, Thelma and Louise, Gladiator and Black Hawk Down.

 One thing is clear: we Brits are useless even at this. Our top guys are Ridley and Tony Scott, with a combined $109m - better than a poke in the eye, but patriotism demands we must do better. On the other hand, maybe it's good to be reminded that those rules about cross-media ownership are there for a reason

He has been nominated for the best director award at the Oscars three times, but has never won.

His brother was behind Top Gun, True Romance, Enemy of the State and Crimson Tide.

In second place are Guy East and Nigel Sinclair, who head Internationalmedia, the company that made Iris, The Wedding Planner and Sliding Doors.

Wealth

The survey compiled lists for a number of territories around the world, except the United States.

In Italy, Berlusconi earned his place at the top thanks to the fact that Mediaset owns a wide range of European film and TV rights, which it says are worth 1.8bn euros (£1.1bn).

But much of his wealth comes from other political and commercial ventures, including TV channels and advertising.

Spanish media mogul Jesus de Polanco is top of that country's list, with $1.4bn (£941m), while France's Seydoux brothers are worth $1.2bn (£824m).

Kerry Packer, the Australian media magnate, heads that country's list with $2.5bn (£1.7bn).

Among the other names listed are French director Luc Besson, worth $40m (£27m), Jackie Chan, who has $20m, and Takeshi Kitano, the Japanese actor, director and comedian, with $25m.