Simon Reuben

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British businessman and property investor, co-founder of Reuben Brothers

Simon Reuben

Image David and Simon Reuben (Reuben Foundation).jpg
David and Simon Reuben; the source does not say which brother is which (photo: Reuben Foundation)
Born May 1941 Bombay (now Mumbai), India
Nationality British
Residence Monaco
Occupation Businessman and property investor
Known for Reuben Brothers, Motcomb Estates
Sibling(s) David Reuben
Education Sir John Cass College, London (did not complete, according to Forbes)
Website reubenbrothers.com

Simon Reuben (born May 1941) is a British businessman and property investor. With his brother David Reuben he owns the investment group Reuben Brothers.[1][2] The brothers made their first fortune in metals and the Russian aluminium industry through Trans-World, which they sold in 2000. Simon ran the property side of the business.[3]

He has been a director of the family charity, the Reuben Foundation, since 2002.[1] The Guardian reported in 2026 that he had lived in Monaco for 40 years.[4] According to BBC News, the 2026 Sunday Times Rich List placed "David and Simon Reuben and family" second, with £27.9bn.[5]

Biography

The Guardian reported in 2004 that the brothers "were born in Bombay to Jewish parents of Iranian descent" and moved to London as teenagers. It added that they were raised by their mother and grandmother and did not go into higher education.[3] Property Week called them "sons of Iraqi Jews who had moved to India".[6] In 2021 The Guardian said they were born in Mumbai to Iraqi Jewish parents with business interests in Baghdad and India.[7] Forbes says he dropped out of Sir John Cass College in London and gives his residence as Monaco.[2] Companies House records his birth as May 1941 and his nationality as British.[8] The Charity Commission lists him as a trustee of the Reuben Foundation under the name Simon David Reuben.[9] The Guardian reported in October 2026 that he moved to Monaco on health grounds.[4]

Business

According to the 2004 Guardian profile:[3]

  • he was self-employed from 1962 and began by importing carpets into the UK;
  • in 1965 he bought J Holdsworth, which the paper called "England's oldest carpet firm";
  • with the profits he bought property in 1970 and formed the property group Devereux, which he sold to Bovis in 1972;
  • he sold most of his British property in 1978 and went on to manage the investments of Trans-World Group.

Fortune wrote that in the early 1990s he was based in Geneva while David worked from London.[10] In 2004 Property Week described Motcomb Estates as handling the Reubens' property interests. It quoted the remark that "there's only one decision-maker at Motcomb and that's Simon Reuben".[6] For the brothers' later investments, see Reuben Brothers.

Political donations

The Electoral Commission register has no donations in Simon Reuben's own name. Companies linked to the brothers have donated; see Reuben Brothers and Investors in Private Capital.[11]

Directorships

Companies House holds two officer records in the name "Simon Reuben", both giving a birth date of May 1941.[8][12]

Company Number Role From To Correspondence address Source
Reuben Foundation 04481304 Director 9 July 2002 – 4th Floor Millbank Tower, 21-24 Millbank, London SW1P 4QP [8]
Whiteswan Ltd 02163878 Director 30 March 1997 3 December 1997 Flat 4, 44 Lowndes Square, London W1X 9TJ [12]

Philanthropy

The Reuben Foundation gave £80m to the University of Oxford in 2020 for the college now named Reuben College.[13] In 2006 the Jewish Chronicle reported that Od Yosef Hai Primary School in Hendon was to be renamed the Nancy Reuben Primary School after the brothers' mother. The paper said the school shared premises with Od Yosef Hai Synagogue (see Od Yosef Hai Yeshiva College of Rabbinical Studies).[14]

Links to Israel and the IDF

Simon Reuben has been a director of the Reuben Foundation (company 04481304, charity 1094130) since 9 July 2002, according to Companies House, which gives his date of birth as May 1941.[1] The Charity Commission lists him as a trustee under the name Simon David Reuben.[9]

Charity trusteeships relevant to the IDF list
Charity Role From To Source
Reuben Foundation Trustee and director 9 July 2002 – [1][9]

The foundation's grants notes name "The Association for Israel's Soldiers" – the Israeli Association for the Wellbeing of Israel's Soldiers, which supports soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces – as a grant recipient: £1,425,032 in the year to 31 December 2023 (2022: nil)[15] and £2,193,000 in the year to 31 December 2024, the largest grant that year.[16] The foundation also gave £30,547 to UK Friends of AWIS in 2014.[17]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Companies House, REUBEN FOUNDATION (04481304) – officers, accessed 21 October 2026.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Forbes, Simon Reuben Forbes, profile last updated 10 March 2026, accessed 31 October 2026.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 James Robinson, Pack up your roubles ... The Guardian, 27 June 2004, accessed 31 October 2026.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Helena Horton, 'I reside in Monaco': billionaire said to have quit UK over potential wealth tax had already left The Guardian, 7 October 2026, accessed 31 October 2026.
  5. ↑ Zahra Fatima, Rich List: Beckhams become billionaires as Oasis appear for first time BBC News, 15 May 2026, accessed 31 October 2026.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Helen Thomas, "Reuben Revealed", Property Week, 23 April 2004, reproduced as Reuben Revealed reubenbrothers.com, accessed 31 October 2026.
  7. ↑ Louise Taylor, Newcastle takeover: a guide to the new key figures at St James' Park The Guardian, 8 October 2021, accessed 31 October 2026.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Companies House, Simon REUBEN – personal appointments (officer ID EKX77O0P5grdSn3laFqIWynnVVs) accessed 31 October 2026.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Charity Commission, Reuben Foundation (1094130) – trustees, Register of Charities, accessed 21 October 2026.
  10. ↑ The editors of Fortune, David and Simon Reuben: Update and Clarification Fortune, 12 July 2004 (Wayback Machine copy captured 27 March 2025), accessed 31 October 2026.
  11. ↑ Electoral Commission, Donations search: "Reuben" Political finance register, accessed 31 October 2026.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Companies House, Simon REUBEN – personal appointments (officer ID M1tY1Wtz36-De6tGZQGZO6VCliw) accessed 31 October 2026.
  13. ↑ University of Oxford, Reuben Foundation donates £80 million for first new Oxford college in 30 years ox.ac.uk, 11 June 2020, accessed 31 October 2026.
  14. ↑ Jewish Chronicle, 14 July 2006, reproduced as Reuben School reubenbrothers.com, accessed 31 October 2026.
  15. ↑ Companies House, Reuben Foundation (company 04481304): group accounts made up to 31 December 2023 (filed 4 November 2024), note 9 "Grants payable", PDF p.28.
  16. ↑ Companies House, Reuben Foundation (company 04481304): group accounts made up to 31 December 2024 (filed 7 October 2025), note 8 "Analysis of grants", PDF p.30 (printed page 28).
  17. ↑ Reuben Foundation accounts, year ended 31 December 2015 UK Government Web Archive (capture of 3 January 2020).
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