You likely haven’t heard their names, but these two brothers who grew up in North London have quietly amassed one of the UK’s largest fortunes that’s now estimated to be a whopping £20 billion, according to Forbes. David and Simon Reuben are ranked among the UK’s richest, with the brothers individually sitting only behind James Dyson, Jim Ratcliffe and hedge fund mogul Michael Platt.
But despite their almost infinite wealth, the two brothers came from much more humble beginnings. Born in Bombay – now Mumbai – David in 1941 and Simon in 1944, they made the move to Islington in North London in the 1950s with their mother. Going to state schools in the capital, the two went to work straight out of school at 17 years old. David worked in scrap metal and began trading on the side, while Simon worked in the weaving and carpet industry, eventually working his way up to buy England’s oldest carpet maker.
But it was in scrap metal that they would truly make their names. They would continue in metals, where they created Trans-Word Metals, a company specialising in selling aluminium and tin from the site in London, and copper and tin from their offices in New York.
Continuing their meteoric growth, they would become the world’s third-largest aluminium producer by 1996, partly after heavy investment in resource-rich Russia and Kazakhstan in the 1990s.
By the early 2000s, they had divested their Russian assets after selling most of their aluminium holdings to former Chelsea owner and Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, and began focusing their investments on property in London and beyond.
They went on to own landmark buildings like Millbank Tower, the John Lewis HQ, Primark on Oxford Street, and prime sites in Mayfair, Paddington and Victoria, to name a few.
Their worth then began to rocket in value after various business and sales. In 2016, they sold 49% of their data business, Global Switch, for $3 billion, as well as a further $2.7 billion in 2018.
Although the family mostly stays out of the headlines, keeping out of the media and believed to be residing in Monaco, the Reubens may be most on the public’s mind for the roles in the Newcastle United buy-out from Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley.
Although originally Chelsea fans, the family is thought to own around 14% of the club alongside the Saudi Public Investment Fund and PCP Capital Partners.
They have also splashed the cash on a 241 ft super yacht called Siren, a £19m private jet and are the owners of various luxury and private clubs and hotels across Europe, including the celebrity hotspot La Taverna Anema e Core on the Italian Island of Capri, which has hosted Beyonce, George Clooney and more.
