The UK’s medical cannabis sector is worth £250 million as of 2026 estimates. After legalisation for medical prescription in 2018, growth was slow to start but in the past five years it has really skyrocketed. The market is expected to grow by some 10% per year over the rest of the decade, roughly in line with the increase in number of patients. Some 80,000 Brits now treat various conditions with medical cannabis.
However, almost none of it (a fraction of a percent) is prescribed on the NHS. This leaves the vast majority of patients to head to paid for private clinics, and has made some people in the business very rich. But who are the very richest in the sector right now, and what exact role did they play in this growth?
Maximillian White is a British Medical Cannabis Distributor
Nottingham born entrepreneur Maximillian White is known for his lavish lifestyle on social media, and his property portfolio. Luxury cars and watches. A Dubai mansion. But what many don’t see is that he has also quietly become one of the biggest cannabis entrepreneurs in Europe and arguably the globe.
After making much of his money in tech and property, in 2020 White decided to invest in the growing European medical cannabis market. He bought 100 acres of land in Portugal, and more in Africa, that he has since converted to (legally) grow hundreds of tonnes of cannabis for export to medical clinics around Europe.
White’s cannabis ends up as cannabis-derived medicines or vapeable flower prescribed by dozens of UK and European cannabis clinics. Comprehensive online resources, such as Mamedica reviews, can help patients find out which option is best for them – including strains of flower, cost effectiveness and quality of service.
White said in an interview in 2025 that production is still ramping up, but his farm is already one of the biggest suppliers of medical cannabis on the continent. He also grows hemp for supply of CBD products that are found legally on shop shelves in the UK and Europe. Interestingly, despite much of his more recent earnings being made off the back of cannabis, White lives full-time in Dubai where possessing a even a crumb of CBD cannabis could easily land you in prison.
American Boris Jordan is The Cannabis Business Billionaire
Undoubtedly the richest person with big investments in medical cannabis, Boris Jordan is the head of global cannabis operator (and licensed UK clinic) Curaleaf. The Russian-American founded Sputnik Group in 1998, which quickly invested in the nascent California medical marijuana business.
It founded the company that would later become Curaleaf in 2010. It raised $400 million in investments in 2018, and between then and 2025 it has purchased more than 20 competitors across the US and other global markets.
Jordan worked at various Wall Street investment firms in the 80s, using his familial knowledge of Russian language and culture to broker property and finance deals across the new Russia and post-Soviet republics, which were at the time opening up to American capitalism.
Jordan remains the CEO today and owns 35% of the company. His estimated net worth is around $1.6 billion as of 2026. He once told investors he sees Curaleaf as the Starbucks of cannabis.
GW Pharmaceuticals British Founders Made a Lot of Money
Doctors Geoffrey Guy and Brian Whittle founded their medicinal cannabis focused company GW Pharmaceuticals in 1998 – far ahead of the curve. They were one of the first companies in the UK to receive a license to grow cannabis for medical research purposes.
They eventually developed the cannabis-based medicines Sativex and Epidyolex, which are currently the only two options allowed to be prescribed on the NHS. By 2020, the company employed 1000 people globally and was speculated to be worth billions. Whittle died in 2018, but Guy was reported to have made £5.8 million that year as company chairman, while CEO Justin Gover made £7.2 million.
Of course, today, prospective UK medical cannabis patients can get many varieties and forms of cannabis, including indica weed strains, from private clinics. While many new patients start with oils or lozenges, it is perfectly legal for patients to discuss specific strains with their clinician.
GW Pharmaceuticals’ role in shaping this situation through their pioneering research into medical cannabinoids has been invaluable and helped many patients access life-changing medicine.
Although no figures were made public Guy (and presumably Whittle’s beneficiaries) would have personally made hundreds of millions of pounds when GW was acquired by Ireland-based Jazz Pharmaceuticals in 2021, for a cool $7.2 billion.
The deal was one of the biggest events in the global cannabis business for many years, and also would have made many early investors and employees of GW very rich.
Despite making millions, Guy has continued to be an active participant in furthering cannabis science. He has written two books on medical cannabinoids and has contributed to some 200 clinical studies across his career.