David Reuben, the second richest man in the UK, relocates to Monaco
88-year-old David Reuben has moved from Holland Park in West London to Monaco this summer. A spokesperson for the Reuben brothers confirmed the relocation to The Times but declined to provide further details on the reasons. He and his 85-year-old brother Simon are tied for second place on this year's Sunday Times Rich List, with a combined wealth of nearly £28 billion. David has previously held the top spot on the list.
Simon has lived in Monaco for about 40 years, initially moving there for cancer treatment. With David's recent move, both brothers now reside in the principality. Monaco does not levy income tax, capital gains tax, or inheritance tax on its residents. The report did not provide official documentation regarding whether he has changed his tax residency status, nor did it disclose his address in Monaco.
The brothers' UK assets remain intact. David is a shareholder in Newcastle United, which is also owned by the Saudi Public Investment Fund. He is overseeing the renovation of two London landmarks, the Admiralty Arch and Cambridge House, each valued at around £1 billion, converting them into luxury hotels. The Rich List describes their entries as significant renovations of historic London buildings.
The Times places this move within a broader trend of wealthy individuals leaving the UK, pointing to the abolition of the non-resident tax regime by former Chancellor Rachel Reeves before April 2025. This regime allowed wealthy individuals to only pay taxes in the UK on income generated within the country, a status long reported to be utilized by the Reuben brothers. The newspaper notes that many former non-residents are leaving due to concerns about global assets being subject to UK inheritance tax. CityAM specified that the reasons for his personal departure have not been confirmed.
Before the move, British citizens residing in Monaco already controlled approximately £77 billion in wealth on this year's Rich List, accounting for over one-tenth of the total, surpassing the combined wealth controlled from Switzerland, Dubai, and the Channel Islands. Among the 350 individuals and families on this year's list, 24 reside in Monaco, including Jim Ratcliffe, easyJet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou, and Lewis Hamilton. Of the 350 names on the 2024 list, 60 did not appear on the 2026 list, with the most common reason being non-British citizens relocating abroad.
This is a change of residence, not a sale of assets. Individuals are moving from the UK tax base to a principality that does not impose income tax, capital gains tax, or inheritance tax, while the London hotel renovations and football equity remain in place. Others leaving during the same period include steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal moving to Switzerland, hedge fund manager Chris Rokos relocating to Athens, and Goldman Sachs executive Richard Gnodde. Monaco benefits from residents with zero personal tax; the UK faces pressure from the abolition of non-residency, the imposition of VAT on private school fees, and increased capital gains tax since mid-2024.
Other departures since the Labour Party came to power include the easyJet founder and Formula 1 driver, both of whom already have residency in Monaco. A survey commissioned by S&W indicates that half of business owners would consider leaving the UK if the budget raises taxes further. The spokesperson did not interpret David's move as a response to any of these factors.
Source: Public information
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The Reuben brothers' trajectory involves first accumulating wealth in metals and then in London real estate, subsequently separating their residence from their assets. Born into a Jewish family in Mumbai, India, they amassed their primary wealth in the 1990s through Trans-World in the aluminum and metals trade following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, later transferring cash into London properties, data centers, and sports equity. When Newcastle United changed ownership in 2021, they appeared as buyers alongside the Saudi Public Investment Fund and PCP Capital Partners. David has previously held the top position on the Sunday Times Rich List, and this year he and Simon are tied for second place with nearly £28 billion. Controversies remain in public records: competition and litigation from the Russian metals trade era, as well as the timelines and costs of the London landmark renovations.
This relocation involves people, not buildings. The renovations of the Admiralty Arch and Cambridge House, each valued at around £1 billion, continue in London, and football equity is not being sold off with the summer move. Simon has been in Monaco for about 40 years due to cancer treatment, while David has now joined him in the same residence this summer. The motivation for the move is suggested in reports to be related to the exposure of inheritance tax after the abolition of non-residency in April 2025: the old rules taxed only income generated within the UK, while the new rules bring global assets into the inheritance discussion. The spokesperson confirmed the move but declined to provide reasons, so the tax motivation is an explanation based on the timeline, not a personal statement.
This can be compared to the migration to Belgium and Switzerland during the French wealth tax era in the 2010s, as well as Lakshmi Mittal relocating to Switzerland and Chris Rokos moving to Athens. In Monaco, there are already 24 families from this year's Rich List controlling about £77 billion in wealth. The Reuben brothers are in a phase of retaining assets while relocating their residency, not liquidating their London portfolio.
Structurally, this represents a transfer of pricing power. The UK still retains tax points on domestic properties, clubs, and operating income, while the pricing power over the inheritance of individual global wealth is taken by the residence with zero inheritance tax. The mechanism is that the abolition of non-residency turns "where a person is" from a preferential clause into a tax base: a person can change their address in one summer, but a £1 billion hotel renovation cannot change its address simultaneously. Consequently, the treasury finds it easier to lose residents and harder to reclaim assets already anchored in London.
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- A person can change their address in one summer, but buildings cannot.
- The tax base follows the resident, while assets remain in place.
- After the abolition of preferential treatment, leaving is cheaper than declaring.