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Barclay Brothers

Sir David Rowat Barclay
and
Sir Frederick Hugh Barclay
Born (1934-10-27) 27 October 1934 (age 82) (both)
Hammersmith, County of London, England, United Kingdom
Residence Fontvieille, Monaco
Brecqhou, Sark, Channel Islands
Nationality British
Citizenship United Kingdom
Occupation Businessmen
Years active 1960s–present
Employer Shop Direct Group
Home town Hammersmith, County of London, England
Net worth IncreaseGB£6.5 billion (2014)
Parent(s) Frederick Hugh and Beatrice Cecilia (née Taylor) Barclay

Sir David Rowat Barclay and Sir Frederick Hugh Barclay (both born 27 October 1934), commonly referred to as the "Barclay Brothers", are British businessmen. The identical twin brothers have very substantial business interests primarily in media, retail and property. The Sunday Times Rich List of 2015 estimated their wealth at £6.5 billion. They have earned a reputation for avoiding publicity, and are often described as reclusive.

Sir David's son, Aidan, manages their UK businesses. Their businesses have been accused of tax avoidance, by placing assets under ownership of companies registered abroad and controlled through trusts. Their Press Holdings company owns The Business and The Spectator magazine. The Telegraph Group Limited titles are controlled via a wholly owned subsidiary, Press Acquisitions Limited.

In 1993 the brothers bought the lease of the island of Brecqhou, off the coast of Sark, one of the smallest of the British Channel Islands.

The Barclay brothers were born within ten minutes of each other in Hammersmith, County of London to Scottish parents Beatrice Cecilia (née Taylor; died 1989) and her husband, Frederick Hugh Barclay, a travelling salesman. The couple had eight other children. Frederick, Sr. died when the brothers were twelve years old, and they left school four years later in 1950 to work in the accounts department at the General Electric Company before setting up as painters and decorators.

In 1955 David married Zoe Newton, a grammar school girl who trained as a ballet dancer, at St John the Baptist Church, Holland Road, Kensington. Despite standing only 4'11" (1.5 metres), Zoe Barclay pursued a modelling career and became the most photographed and highly paid model of her time, appearing on the front of popular magazines such as Picturegoer. She appeared on television and in the Dairy Council advertisements as the “drinka pinta milka day“ girl.


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