Britain’s annual rich list
Biz@India
The Reuben brothers were born in India to a well-off Iraqi-Jewish family and later moved to the United Kingdom sometime in 1950s
India born brothers David Reuben and Simon Reuben topped Britain’s annual rich list, with a fortune of 13.1 billion pounds.
David Reuben and Simon Reuben, born in Mumbai, India, have topped the Sunday Times Rich List 2016, released on April 24, 2016.
The Reuben brothers were born in India to a well-off Iraqi-Jewish family and they later moved to the United Kingdom sometime in 1950’s, trying their luck in metals and property. Since then, the real estate and metal moguls, David and Simon Reuben, have been aggressively expanding their empire.
They increased their fortune by 3.4 billion pounds to top the list in 2016, while they stood at the fifth position on the list last year.
Their properties include Millbank tower, the John Lewis partnership HQ in Victoria and shops in Sloane Street. They also own London Oxford airport and London heliport and were leading investors in Metro Bank.
Both David and Simon keep a major share of their wealth in liquid assets like cash and bonds, and value their properties very carefully.
Their overseas property and metal operations add to 300 million pounds, whereas the hidden value in their London portfolio and Global Switch stake take the brothers to 13.1 billion pounds.
Other big names on the list
Srichand and Gopichand Hinduja, Indian-born British business magnates who run the Hinduja Group, managed to slot their names on the list after the Reuben brothers. The Hinduja brothers stood second on the list last year as well.
Indian businessman Lakshmi Niwas Mittal, the steel tycoon, lost around three quarters of his wealth and is now down to 7.12 billion, dropping him at number 11 on the list while in 2008, he was in the top slot with 27.7 billion pounds.
Another steel chief Swraj Paul, is hit by the steel crisis, and his fortune registered a drop of around 66 pc, to be ranked 154th in 2016 as compared to 44th last year.
English actor Sacha Baron Cohen and his wife Isla Fisher also made to the rich list for the first time, with a fortune of 105 million pounds.
British Formula One racing driver Lewis Hamilton also entered the list this year, with 106 million pounds.
Globally, India has a record of 56 billionaires, as compared to 193 in China and 43 in Russia.
Every year for the past decade, except 2009, the fortune needed to enter the rich list increases distinctly.
