David and Simon Reuben

* One friend, who spends time with Simon at the Isle de France Hotel in St Barts, said they are "trustworthy and really rather shy." And an executive who works closely with them said: "People often say that they are secretive but it's more a case of being very private. They are just not ostentatious people. David is the trader and Simon is the investor. They work brilliantly together. They are quite different. For example, David is a technophile and loves gadgets while Simon is completely the opposite. But I have been with them when they finish sentences for each other. In a business sense, they are incredibly smart and have a reputation for never having overpaid for anything."
* In the early 1990s they saw the opportunities in Russia and entered the metals market there, investing significantly in the production and distribution of metals. The Reubens exploited the wild selling taking place in the aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet system to buy up half of Russia's aluminium industry and become the world's third-biggest producer of the metal — and this at a time when Russia represented frontier capitalism at its craziest.
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* By early 2000 the Russian business environment had turned sour for many western investors and it was at this point that they moved their interests to the UK market and property in particular. With a rumoured war chest of around £1.5 billion to play with they soon set up a property investment group which had no debt, liquid assets and a variety of bonds. This very quickly became the hallmark of the Rubens business strategy where debt is very rare which ensures that they are never forced sellers of their properties.
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Highlights

* David is the trader and Simon is the investor. They work brilliantly together. They are quite different. For example, David is a technophile and loves gadgets while Simon is completely the opposite.
* In the early 1990s they saw the opportunities in Russia and entered the metals market there, investing significantly in the production and distribution of metals.

==GREAT TEAM WITH COMPLEMENTARY SKILLS==
==ENTERING A NEW MARKET UNDERGOING DISCONTINUITY EARLY==