The combined wealth of the world's super rich may have fallen by $2 trillion (€1.6 trillion) last year according to Forbes, but there several billionaire Arabs appear to have weathered the financial storm.
A new survey by online daily arabianbusiness.com, has compiled a list of the world's 50 richest Arabs over a period of four months research. Nearly 37 out of 50 are billionaires.
Research from Merrill Lynch and Capgemini earlier this year shows high net worth indidual wealth in the Middle East fell by 16% between 2007 and 2008. By comparison, wealth in the UK and US fell by around 22% in each region.
In the future oil is expected to be a less dependable driver of wealth in the future, so growth there is likely to be slower in the Middle East than it has been in the past. But , for now, the Middle East remains one of the more buouyant regions of the world, with 6% GDP growth expected between now and 2013.
The following top ten is a direct extract from Arabianbusiness.com, where the full list is available below.
1. HRH Prince Alwaleed Net Worth: $16.3bn Company: Kingdom Holding Company
HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud is the world’s richest Arab and the Middle East’s most high-profile businessman. He has assumed an iconic status, his far-sighted investments in firms such as Citigroup, Apple and News Corporation having garnered a fortune that was at one point worth as much as $28bn.
Today, some of his more ambitious investments are showing the strain of the global economic slowdown. The depreciation in value of his 5% stake in Citigroup, has been well-documented.
2. Mohammad Al Amoudi Net Worth: $8.8bn Company: Saudi Amoudi Group
Born in Ethiopia to a Yemeni father, Mohammad Hussein Al Amoudi was raised in Saudi Arabia and is today considered one of the largest foreign investors in Swedenand North Africa.
He made his first fortune in construction and real estate before branching out into buying oil refineries in Morocco and Sweden — where he was honoured with the Royal Swedish Order of the North Star by King Carl XVI — and his native Ethiopia, where he bankrolls the national soccer team.
By the end of last year, the current economic crisis had taken a toll on a number of Al Amoudi’s Swedish investments. The stock exchange lost over 30% of its value between August and December 2008, while the plummeting oil price hardly helped Al Amoudi’s oilfield operations.
3. Sheikh Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber Net Worth: $8.5bn Company: MBI International
One of the most successful Arab businessmen, Mohamed Al Jaber has in fact made a name for himself by avoiding the speculative stock market of the Arab world.
The MBI International group of companies today holds an asset value of over $8bn and boasts operations in Europe, the Middle East and the US. It includes real estate giant Jadawel International, JJW Hotels & Resorts, and the AJWA Group, one of the largest food companies in the Middle East. It also incorporates Continentoil, an international oilfield services and petroleumresource management company with offices in the US and UK.
Both Jadawel and Ajwa remain profitable companies, but Al Jaber’s interests seem to be gravitating more towards his hotel portfolio, which he expanded significantly in 2008, snapping up resorts in Portugal and unveiling plans for an ambitious string of projects in Austria, France and the UK.
4. Nasser Al Rashid Net Worth: $8bn Company: Rashid Engineering
Many on this list will have their own private mega yacht, but few will own one quite as spectacular as the Lady Moura. She is the pride and joy of Nasser Al Rashid, a man who is believed to be an influential advisor to the Saudi royal family, and is certainly one of the world’s richest Arabs, even according to our most conservative estimate.
Al Rashid has owned the 344-foot Lady Moura since her launch in 1990, when he paid around $200m for the privilege.
Her name is etched on the stern of the ship, carved in 24 carat gold, while her tenders include a 48-foot San Juan sailboat and a Sikorsky S76B helicopter. She is rumoured to have a garage with a Boston Whaler, Ski Nautic boat, and Venetian Taxi, while she also boasts a sand-covered, retractable platform that slides out from her side just above the water line, to create a carry-along sandy beach.
On land, the founder of Rashid Engineering was once married to socialite Mouna Ayoub, and is currently married to a Belgian-Algerian woman.
5. The Bin Laden Family Net Worth: $7bn Company: Saudi Bin Laden Group
Titans of the Gulf construction industry, the Bin Laden family is pressing ahead with a series of high-profile projects through its Saudi Bin Laden Group (SBG).
Last year Middle East Development, the Dubai-based arm of the group, announced plans to raise $190bn to build two new cities in Djibouti and Yemen and a bridge linking them. Tarek Mohammad Bin Laden will provide at least $10bn of seed financing for the $200bn project, according to the plans.
Construction of the 28.5km bridge, which will link Yemen and Djibouti on the Horn of Africa, has already been nicknamed “bridge of the century” by the world’s press. Construction is due to start later this year and will take around 15 years to compete. The project will cost $20bn.
6. The Olayan Family Net Worth: $6.9bn Company: Olayan Group
The Olayan Group began as a trucking concern in 1947. In 1954 its founder, Suleiman Olayan, launched General Trading Company, the group’s food and consumer distribution business and was instrumental in bringing commercial insurance to Saudi Arabia, founding Arab Commercial Enterprises — which went on to become the region’s largest insurance and reinsurance broker.
Today, the group owns more than 50 companies, with hefty stakes in MetLife, First Boston and American International Group. Alongside Suleiman’s widow Mary, the four children — Khaled, Hayat, Hutham and Lubna — share the group’s multibillion-dollar fortune.
The family is also a long-time investor in Credit Suisse, last October upping its stake to 3.6% of registered shares and 3.4%of mandatory convertible notes.
7. Sulaiman al Rajhi Net Worth: $5.2bn Al Rajhi Bank
Sulaiman Al Rajhi is chairman of Al Rajhi Bank, Saudi Arabia’s largest Islamic bank, established by royal decree in 1988. The bank’s origins date back to the 1940s when it started operating as a money changer in the Kingdom. Today, its operations include retail, corporate and investment banking.
Sulaiman owns the largest cut of the institution’s shares, and the last six months have not been kind to Sulaiman or his beloved bank.
It could have been far worse, and earlier this year Sulaiman looked in trouble as Al Rajhi shares tanked in the wake of the severe economic downturn. The bank’s shares lost more than 50% of their value between August 2008 and March of this year, but have since staged a recovery of sorts, and today rest at around two thirds of their August 2008 worth.
8. Issam Al Zahid Net Worth: $5.1bn Alzahid Group of Companies
Issam Al Zahid is chairman of the Alzahid Group of Companies, launched in 1951 with Alzahid Construction.
At that time, the firm was involved in town planning, as well as the construction of buildings, roads, and other facilities. It also had the honourable distinction of being the first company to build coast guard stations along the shoreline of Saudi Arabia. By 1958 the company was in full swing, building everything from bridges to tunnels and flyovers — indeed much of the basic transport infrastructure upon which the Kingdom still relies.
9. Mohamed Abdul Latif Jameel Net Worth: $5bn Company: ALJ (Abdul Latif Jameel Company)
Established in 1945, the Abdul Latif Jameel Group (ALJ), and its president Mohamed are legends not just in Saudi Arabia, but across the Middle East.
Today, ALJ is the world’s largest Toyota dealership with operations in the Middle East, UK, Central Asia and China. It is also active in the fields of real estate, financing, software solutions, advertising and media, and distribution and sales of electronics and household appliances. ALJ employs more than 10,000 people worldwide with around 2,000 in the UK alone, and the group also operates Saudi Arabia’s largest consumer finance company. Jameel has also funded a gallery showcasing more than 10,000 Islamic artefacts at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum.
10. Saleh Kamel Net Worth: $4.9bn Company: AlBaraka Banking Group
Over the last 40 years Saleh Kamel has built an empire on the back of his close relationship with the Saudi government, and his company now incorporates investments of billions of dollars across 40 countries.
During the oil boom of the 1960s, Kamel put his company forward for a string of infrastructure contracts, so helping turn the government’s vision into a reality. The successful delivery of roads, pipelines and sewerage networks led to a contract to maintain the pilgrimage sites and Holy Mosques of Mecca and Medina, and public works continued with the Dallah Avco Trans Arabia Company, which was responsible for building and maintaining Saudi’s airports.
Link: http://www.wealth-bulletin.com/rich-life/rich-monitor/content/1055065496/
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