Richest People in the United Arab Emirates 2018.
Amazon chief Jeff Bezos is now the world’s richest person, having snatched the top spot from Microsoft founder Bill Gates who slips to second place, according to Forbes magazine’s annual billionaires list published on Tuesday.
The UAE with seven entries has the highest number of Arab billionaires, followed by Egypt with six billionaires.
The number of Emirati billionaires grew to seven as compared to five last year in Forbes’ annual billionaire’s list released on 2018.
Below is the list of Emirati billionaires –
1. Abdulla bin Ahmad Al Ghurair & family
Wealth: $5.9 billion
Global ranking: 296
Abdulla Al Ghurair founded Mashreqbank in 1967, one of the U.A.E.’s leading banks. He remains chairman and his son Abdul Aziz is CEO.
His eponymous holding company has interests in food, construction and real estate; a non-family member is the group CEO.
Al Ghurair Foods claims to have the biggest pasta factory in the Middle East. Its pasta products are sold under the Jenan brand.
His construction company did the exterior cladding of Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, and helped build the Dubai Metro.
His brother Saif Al Ghurair is also a billionaire.
2. Majid Al Futtaim & Family
Wealth: $4.6 billion
Global ranking: 456
Majid Al Futtaim founded retailing and entertainment giant Majid Al Futtaim Holding, known as MAF, in 1992.
MAF owns and operates 12 hotels and 21 malls, including Mall of the Emirates in Dubai and the Mall of Egypt in Cairo.
It also has the exclusive license to operate hypermarkets for French company Carrefour across the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia.
His son Tariq sits on the board while non-family members manage the conglomerate, which publishes its revenues and profits annually.
The group had $8 billion in revenues and $760 million in profits in 2016.
3. Hussain Sajwani
Wealth: $4.1 billion
Global ranking: 527
Hussain Sajwani is the chairman of Dubai-based luxury real estate developer Damac Properties, which he founded in 2002.
He started out in the food services business, catering to the US military and construction giant Bechtel.
In 2001, after Dubai allowed foreigners to own property, he shifted to real estate and sold units in a residential building in less than six months.
Damac teamed up with Donald Trump in 2013 to develop two Trump-branded golf courses in Dubai developments.
Sajwani is known for extravagant marketing, sometimes offering free Lamborghinis to apartment buyers. He has co-branding deals with Versace and Bugatti.
4. Abdulla Al Futtaim
Wealth: $3.3 billion
Global ranking: 703
Abdulla Al Futtaim owns conglomerate Al Futtaim Group, run by his son Omar, who is vice chairman.
In 1955, the group became the exclusive distributor in the U.A.E. of Toyota, which now has the leading share of the auto market with around 30 per cent.
Al Futtaim also has the license to operate Hertz, Ikea, Toys “R” Us and Zara in the UAE.
The retailers anchor its malls, which include Dubai Festival City and Cairo Festival City.
His cousin Majid Al Futtaim is also a billionaire.
5. Saeed Bin Butti Al Qebaisi
Wealth: $2.7 billion
Global ranking: 887
Saeed Bin Butti Al Qebaisi is chairman of Centurion Investments, an Abu Dhabi firm with investments in healthcare, money exchange and retail.
Al Qebaisi’s most valuable stake is in NMC Health care, a London-listed firm that bills itself as the largest private healthcare firm in the U.A.E.
NMC Healthcare, which runs hospitals and clinics in a dozen countries, was founded by fellow billionaire B.R. Shetty.
He has investment partnerships with Khalifa Bin Butti Al Muhairi, also a billionaire, that include joint stakes in Travelex and UAE Exchange.
6. Saif Al Ghurair & family
Wealth: $1.9 billion
Global ranking: 1,284
Saif Al Ghurair is the founder of family holding company Al Ghurair Group, which has interests in banking, steel and packaging.
Al Ghurair’s six sons hold positions in the group.
He owns significant shares in Mashreqbank, a leading U.A.E. bank, and in Dubai-based National Cement Company.
Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal, one of the world’s biggest steel producers, has a minority stake in Al Ghurair Steel.
His company Taghleef Industries is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of polypropylene films, used in food packaging and lamination.
7. Khalifa Bin Butti Al Muhairi
Wealth: $1.5 billion
Global ranking: 1,561
Khalifa Bin Butti Al Muhairi is the chairman of KBBO Group, an Abu Dhabi-based group with investments in healthcare, money exchange and retail.
He’s a large shareholder in NMC Healthcare, a London-listed firm that bills itself as the largest private healthcare firm in the U.A.E.
NMC, which runs hospitals and clinics in a dozen countries, was founded by B.R. Shetty, also a billionaire. Al Muhairi is a board member.
He also has stakes in money transfer firm UAE Exchange, which handles $26 billion in remittances annually, and U.K. money exchange firm Travelex.
He has partnered with billionaire Saeed Bin Butti Al Qebaisi to make investments through Infinite Investment and Centurion Partners.
