Simon Reuben built a shared fortune with his brother David by moving from carpets and early property purchases into metals, real estate and infrastructure investments, including the long ownership and eventual sale of Global Switch. [1][2][3][4]
Carpets and property preceded the brothers' metals expansion
Forbes says Simon started by importing carpets and buying real estate in the U.K., while David worked in metals trading, giving the brothers distinct early businesses before they combined their investment activity. [1][2]
They later built Transworld into a major metals trader with investments in Russia and Kazakhstan, then cashed out and shifted more of their capital toward property and other long-duration assets. [1][2]
For Simon, the financial path was therefore not a passive share of his brother's operating career: his early property activity became one leg of the joint investment platform that the brothers expanded over subsequent decades. [1][2]
Data centers became a major realization event
Global Switch financing materials identified the brothers as the ultimate owners through Aldersgate Investments and said the company had been developed with substantial shareholder funding alongside bank financing. [3]
Forbes records major partial sales beginning in 2016, and the brothers completed their exit in 2019 when the remaining 24% stake was sold for £1.8 billion. Simon's fortune reflects self-created business and investment capital compounded across metals, property and infrastructure. [1][4]
Sources for background
Sources reviewed Sep 26, 2026.
- Simon Reuben · Forbes · Mar 10, 2026
- David & Simon Reuben · Forbes · Mar 8, 2007
- Global Switch financing memorandum · London Stock Exchange · Apr 17, 2011
- China's Shagang buys final quarter of Global Switch · Data Center Dynamics · Aug 30, 2019
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