Property magnates the Reuben brothers have topped the UK’s rich list in a year that saw property overtake mining and steel as the most profitable industry.
David and Simon Reuben have an estimated joint wealth of £13.1bn, up by £3.4bn from the previous year, according to the Sunday Times rich list.
Their London property portfolio includes Millbank Tower, SW1, the John Lewis Partnership HQ in Victoria, SW1, and shops in Sloane Street, SW1.
The brothers replaced Len Blavatnik, the Ukranian-born businessman with interests in coal, aluminium, petrochemicals, music and media, whose fortune fell by £1.6bn to £11.6bn, putting him at number three on the list.
The London property boom also helped to see the Duke of Westminster’s fortune rise by £790m to £9.35bn, putting him at number six on the rich list.
The Duke of Westminster owns Grosvenor Group, which had a development pipeline of £5.5bn at the end of 2014. His private assets include nearly 165,000 acres of rural land, a dairy farm and the Chester Grosvenor Hotel.
The only two new entrants to the rich list’s top 25 made their fortunes in property and investment.
Lone Star founder John Grayken debuted at number 20 with a fortune of £4.4bn.
South African retail mogul Christo Wiese was also on the list for the first time, at number 22, with an estimated wealth of £4.3bn.
Top 10 in property from the Sunday Times Rich List
1. Reuben brothers £13.1bn
(up £3.4bn) (overall rank: 1)
David and Simon Reuben’s London property portfolio includes Millbank Tower, SW1, the John Lewis Partnership HQ in Victoria, SW1 and shops in Sloane Street, SW1. As part of a consortium, they acquired a stake in the Chelsfield Property operation for £585m in 2004.
2. Galen and George Weston and family £11bn
(overall rank: 4)
The Weston family owns the Selfridges Group and its portfolio of luxury department store chains. Other assets include Heal’s, Fortnum & Mason and Canadian department stores. Retail guru Galen Weston’s total assets in Britain and Canada are worth nearly £6.2bn and include the Loblaw supermarket chain, Weston Foods and the Shoppers Drug Mart grocery operation.
3. Duke of Westminster £9.4bn
(up £790m) (overall rank: 6)
The Duke of Westminster owns Grosvenor Group, which had a development pipeline of £5.5bn at the end of 2014. His private assets include nearly 165,000 acres of rural land, a dairy farm and the Chester Grosvenor Hotel.
4. Sir David and Sir Frederick Barclay £7bn
(up £500m) (last year: 12)
The Barclay twins increased their fortune by £500m, helped by the sale of their stake in the Maybourne Group of luxury hotels comprising the Berkeley and Connaught, for £2.4bn. The Monaco-based brothers own the Ritz, the Channel Island of Sark, and have an interest in Shop Direct.
5. Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber and family £5.8bn
(down £95m) (overall rank: 15)
Al Jaber runs London-based MBI International, a holding group with interests in energy, property and hotels. He also owns JJW Hotels & Resorts, which comprises luxury properties in Austria, France, Portugal and the UK. His business empire and property assets are valued at £3.8bn, topped by an estimated £2bn held in cash.
6. Earl Cadogan and family £5.7bn
(up £900m) (overall rank: 16)
Earl Cadogan was dubbed as one of the biggest beneficiaries of the London property boom. Net assets at his Cadogan Group rose to £5.2bn last year.
7. John Grayken. £4.4bn
(new entry) (overall rank: 20)
Lone Star founder John Grayken was a new entrant to this year’s list. It comes after Lone Star’s acquisition of Quintain for £700m in July, with planning permission for around 5,500 homes in the Wembley area.
8. Nathan Kirsh £4.4bn
(down £690m) (overall rank: 21)
South African-born Kirsh bought Tower 42, EC2, for £283m and plans to build an office block on the site. In addition to property assets, his fortune comes from Kirsh Group’s 75% stake in New York cash-and-carry operation Jetro Holdings.
9. Christo Wise. £4.3bn
(new entry) (overall rank: 22)
Retail mogul Christo Wiese is the largest single shareholder in Africa’s biggest retailer, the supermarket chain Shoprite, and also has a large stake in shoes and textiles chain Pepkor. Last year he bought the New Look fashion chain for £780m. He also controls an 80% stake in Virgin Active gym group and has a UK property portfolio worth nearly £80m, including shopping centres, offices and industrial properties.
10. Baroness Howard de Walden and family £3.6bn
(up £400m) (overall rank: 25)
The family’s London property empire grew by £400m in 2014-15, and now encompasses 90 acres. It made profits of £44.5m in 2014-15.
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