Reuben brothers top Rich List as Britain’s wealthy have mixed year

The richest members of Britain’s Jewish community have had a mixed year, according to The Sunday Times’ Rich List, with the billionaire Reuben brothers now ranked as the wealthiest in the land.

Property investors David and Simon Reuben, who bought many of London’s landmark buildings after making their money in Russian aluminium, topped the charts at £13.1 billion, up from fifth place last year. Russian-speaking Jews now based in London had a year to forget.

Ukrainian-born Len Blavatnik, an oil oligarch who was last year listed as Britain’s richest man with £13.2bn, saw his wealth drop to £11.6bn, while Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich saw his net worth fall by £890m to £6.4bn.

Retailer Philip Green also had a torrid time, losing £280m after he was forced to sell BHS for £1.

The business this week went into administration, Sir Philip’s wealth having fallen to £3.2bn.

Meanwhile, former porn baron turned media mogul Richard Desmond saw his value skyrocket, doubling to £2.25bn, helped by the £463m sale of Channel 5 in 2014.

It was a good year for advertising, too, with WPP’s Sir Martin Sorrell increasing his net worth by £70m to £395m, while Maurice and Charles Saatchi lost £5m, taking them down to £140m.

New additions to the Rich List include actor Sacha Baron Cohen, famed for his Ali G character, who – together with his actress wife Isla Fisher – is worth £105m.