David & Simon Reuben

Retirement homes and racecourses are interesting the Reuben brothers these days. In August 2006, the brothers were part of a consortium that spent £1.1 bn buying retirement home builder McCarthy & Stone while in April 2007, they agreed a £65.9m agreed takeover of Northern Racing, owner of racecourses throughout Britain. But the brothers are able to spot value and make a profit by buying and selling on assets. In 2006, they made a 25% return on the sale of Shell Mex House in London and a £30m profit on the sale of their stake in the Stratford City development.

The Reubens, David and Simon, have been active in the British property market for the last decade after making their fortune in Russia in the 1990s, where they were dubbed the 'metal tsars' for their role in restructuring the aluminium industry there. But their origins were anything but regal. Born in Bombay, the Reubens made their way to London, where Simon went into property and David started trading in scrap metal.

Their foray into Russia, which ended in 1999, earned them at least £1.3bn according to a detailed analysis by Fortune magazine. Our sources suggest that following astute deals in the British property market, their property assets are now at least £1.8bn (mostly in the UK) with a further £1.6bn in liquid assets such as cash, bonds and their growing investment portfolio. Personal assets easily take them to £3.49bn.