David and Simon Reuben

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It has been suggested that this article be split into articles entitled Reuben brothers, David Reuben and Simon Reuben. (Discuss)

For the physician and author of books on sex, see David Reuben (sex author).

David and Simon Reuben are British businessmen of Baghdadi Jewish ethnicity. Born in Mumbai, India, the brothers moved to London as teenagers. Despite coming from an impoverished background, the two are now thought to have a net worth of over £4,000,000,000.^[1] The brothers are among the ten richest families in Britain and barely a week goes by without the investors adding another asset to their burgeoning business empire.The Reuben brothers built up their fortune during the 70's and 80's in both metals trading and property. In the early 1990s they saw the opportunities in Russia and entered the metals market there, investing significantly in the production and distribution of metals.The Reubens exploited the wild selling taking place in the aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet system to buy up half of Russia’s aluminium industry and become the world’s third-biggest producer of the metal — and this at a time when Russia represented frontier capitalism at its craziest. At its peak, their company, Trans-World Metals, and its associates controlled 5 per cent of the world’s aluminium output.Russian aluminium smelters were incapacitated by debt. Trans-World entered into tolling arrangements with factories in which they paid for and delivered raw materials in return for finished aluminium, which it then sold for profit.The company’s investment in Russia was $1.5 billion (£870 million), with global sales in 1995 topping $6 billion. Their former status as Russia's biggest foreign investors means they are forced to endure more press scrutiny than they would like to. During their 10 years in the country, the Reubens did business with some unconventional characters. They also came across several members of the country's new oligarchy, including Abramovich, now owner of Chelsea Football Club.

By 2000, they had sold all their Russian assets and focussed their business activities mainly in the UK property market, where they have a substantial portfolio of assets. With others, they have been involved in financing a number of major acquisitions and also have investments in technology companies. They are always looking out for new investments, increasingly across Europe. The brothers also have a charitable wing, The Reuben Foundation, which donates mainly in the healthcare and education sectors.The Reuben Brothers Foundation in 2006 recently helped The Great Ormond Street Hospital open what is to become one of the largest Cancer clinics for children in the world.

The Reuben brothers have had the look of champions for several decades even though few people have had a chance to look at them. They cling tightly to their privacy.Simon Reuben, who, at 60, is three years younger than his brother David, has given only one interview to a British publication in his entire career, and that was more a case of finding himself in a room with a journalist and having to make polite conversation. Before that, in 2000, the brothers did agree to speak to Fortune but this ended in a long and expensive legal battle after the US-based magazine made allegations of links with the Russian mafia. The Reubens began libel proceedings against the publication's parent company, Time Inc, and the case was due to be heard in a London court last October. Fortune finally agreed an out-of-court settlement with the Reubens and was forced to issue a lengthy clarification. One friend, who spends time with Simon at the Isle de France hotel in St Barths, said they are 'trustworthy and really rather shy'. And an executive who works closely with them said: 'People often say that they are secretive but it's more a case of being very private. They are just not ostentatious people. David is the trader and Simon is the investor. They work brilliantly together. They are quite different. For example, David is a technophile and loves gadgets, while Simon is completely the opposite. But I have been with them when they finish sentences for each other. In a business sense, they are incredibly smart and have a reputation for never having overpaid for anything.'

People might not know much about them but many of the Reubens' buildings and projects in London and throughout the world enjoy the highest of profiles.In 2006 David and Simon Reuben together with partners HBOS and Tom Hunter took over MCcarthy and Stone, A retirement home builder for 1.1 billion pounds sterling. Today their business activities revolve around Real Estate both in the UK and abroad(mainly Germany), venture capitalism with projects such as luup( www.luup.com) which is a mobile wallet and Private Equity icluding IKYP (www.iKyp.com)

Both Reuben Brothers are married with Children, David is a UK national who spends his time between London and his villa in Cannes, Simon resides in Monaco and also has a house in the South of France. Simon has one daughter, Lisa Reuben with his wife Joyce and David has three children with his wife Deborah.

[edit] Dispute with Ken Livingstone

The Reuben brothers recently received press attention following a dispute over a property development project with the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone. On 21 March, during a press conference about redevelopment in London in preparation for the 2012 Olympics, Livingstone told them "they could always go back to Iran and see if they do better under the Ayatollahs".^[2] Livingstone was again the object of criticism following a 21 March 2006 press conference at which Livingstone is alleged to have said of David and Simon Reuben — two Indian-born British businessmen involved in a property development project for the 2012 Olympics — that "if they’re not happy they can always go back to Iran and see if they can do better under the Ayatollahs". Brian Coleman and other Conservative members of the GLA accused Livingstone of anti-semitism, while The Guardian and The Times ran leaders accusing Livingstone of anti-immigrant remarks. The Guardian stated that Livingstone's remarks would "shame a loudmouth pub buffoon", and that "The Reuben brothers have as much right to be in Britain as Livingstone himself", while the Times leader said simply "Ken Livingstone is a fool" [9]. Livingstone refused calls for him to apologize for his remarks, stating "I would offer a complete apology to the people of Iran to the suggestion that they may be linked in any way to the Reuben brothers. I wasn't meaning to be offensive to the people of Iran." [29] He also accused Coleman of behaving like the Nazi Propaganda Minister, Josef Goebbels [10]. The Reuben brothers are of Iraqi ancestry, rather than Iranian, but have carried out work in Iran.The Reuben Brothers posted a statement on their website (www.reubenbrothers.com) responding to Mr Livingstone.

"Regretfully, the Mayor appears to be deliberately misinformed about the role of the Reuben brothers in the consortium. They have worked ceaselessly to try to move the project forward for the benefit of London and the Olympic project. If the Mayor cares to have discussions with either David or Simon Reuben then we are confident that he would arrive at a more balanced view. Furthermore, at the suggestion of Westfield, NM Rothschild were appointed as mediators in the partners' discussions and should anyone wish to talk to them or to London & Continental Railways - both of whom have been independent parties to the talks - then we are sure that they will form a more accurate understanding of the consortium and the roles played by each of its members. The Mayor would also gain a more accurate account of the developments at Paddington and White City"