At least 20 British billionaires have benefited from the government's furlough scheme since it was launched in March, it has been reported.
It comes as the country's super-rich have lost more than £54billion in the past two months amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Sunday Times Rich List.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has suggested that 7.5million workers at around one million businesses are currently furloughed, but the use of the scheme by some billionaires has created controversy.
Five of the country’s 10 richest people own companies that have furloughed workers through the scheme, in which staff are paid 80 per cent of their salary by the government - up to £2,500 a month.