25-YR-OLD BRIT IS WORTH pounds 97m

A 25-YEAR-OLD British entrepreneur has been named as one of the world's richest people under the age of 40.

Manchester-born Reuben Singh is worth an estimated pounds 97.6million. He came 39th in a list compiled by business magazine Fortune of the world's 40 richest under 40.

Singh, who owns five top-of-the-range cars including a bright yellow Bentley, made his first million by the age of 18 from a chain of fashion shops, Miss Attitude, which he dreamed up while still at school. He opened his first shop in Manchester's Arndale Centre in 1995, despite objections from his Indian-born father who wanted him to join the family's successful import-export company.

He later sold his company for pounds 27million and then expanded into property, currency, venture capital and construction. His latest project is a new secretarial service for small businesses called AlldayPA which is set to net him millions more.

Singh is a devout Sikh but still lists four C's as the most important elements in his life - companies, cars, clothes and cash. He is a notorious collector of parking tickets - "rather a ticket than a scratch" he says - and now employs a chauffeur to drive him to business meetings.

"I used to want to do daft things like go out and spend pounds 80,000 on a watch," says Reuben. "But today I think there is more to life, to business, than making money."

He still has a long way to go in catching up the world's richest man under 40 - American computer magnate Michael Dell, 37, is estimated to be worth pounds 10.3billion.

Most of the money on both lists come from traditional industries but among more unusual businesses which have made their owners rich is one which deals in aquatic feed.

TOP 10 UNDER-41 MIKHAIL KHODORKOVSKY, Russian oil baron (pounds 4.65billion)

2 ERNESTO BERTARELLI, of Swiss biotech company Serono (pounds 3billion)

3 German STEFAN QUANDT, of BMW and Delton (pounds 2.9billion)

4 Russian oil man ROMAN ABRAMOWICH (pounds 2.2billion)

5 LORENZO MENDOZA, of Polar (pounds 1.8billion)

6 HIROSHI MIKITANI, of Japanese online shopping mall Rakuten (pounds 1.4billion)

7 British media magnate VISCOUNT ROTHERMERE (pounds 1.4billion)

8 Indian entrepreneur KUMAR BIRLA (pounds 1.36billion)

9 Russian oil and banking tycoon MIKHAIL FRIEDMAN (pounds 1.36billion)

10 RICHARD LI, chairman of Hong Kong's Pacific Century Group (pounds 1.03billion)

(Figures do not include America)

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