|
Prince Alwaleed leads Arabian charge
|
|
DUBAI: Saudis outnumbered other wealthy Arab entrepreneurs with Prince Alwaleed bin Talal ranked number 19 globally on the annual Forbes list of billionaires, while three businessmen from the UAE are among the world's 500 richest.
Prince Alwaleed, 55-year-old chairman of Kingdom Holding, is worth $19.4 billion, with his wealth growing $6.1 billion in one year, the US-based magazine said.
A nephew of the Saudi King, the flamboyant prince has interests across a range of business, including stocks, hotels, media and entertainment. He owns a jewellery collection of $730 million and has an A380 among his four private planes, according to Forbes.
Alwaleed's wealth grew despite a poor stock market performance last year, particularly his key portfolio Citigroup taking a battering. His Kingdom Holding owns 4.2 per cent of Citigroup and has stakes in global brands such as Four Seasons, News Corp, PepsiCo, Kodak and Time Warner. Citigroup shares declined more than 50 per cent in 2009.
There are eight billionaires from Saudi Arabia among the top 500, more than from any other single Arab country. Saudi businessman Mohammed al-Amoudi, aged 65, controls a fortune of $10 billion and is ranked number 64 globally. His interests include petroleum, mining and agriculture. Kuwait's Nasser al-Kharafi's family wealth is estimated at $8.7 billion. Kharafi, aged 66, is head of one of the Arab world's oldest and most prominent family businesses, MA Kharafi & Sons, with interests across hospitality, construction, manufacturing and marketing. Fifty-one-year-old Saudi hotel and real estate tycoon Mohamed bin Issa al-Jaber is ranked 93rd globally with a fortune of $7.5 billion. Sulaiman al-Rajhi, aged 90, was estimated worth $6.5 billion, with the global ranking of 109. He is chairman and largest shareholder of Al Rajhi Bank in Saudi Arabia. His 98-year-old brother, Saleh al-Rajhi has been ranked at 129th with $5.8 billion in wealth.
The Middle East and Africa regions have 65 billionaires with a fortune of $181 billion compared with 58 people worth $156 billion in 2009. There have been some spectacular regional casualties from the global financial crisis. Maan al-Sanea, head of Saad Group, and Sulaiman Hamad al-Gosaibi, the late chairman of Ahmad Hamad Al Gosaibi & Brothers Group, were missing from the rich list. Forbes estimated their fortunes at $7 billion and $2 billion, respectively. Two of the richest Saudi families, they have defaulted on billions of dollars of loans. The UAE's top billionaire on the Forbes list was Abdul Aziz al-Ghurair. The 55-year-old CEO of Mashreq Bank and Speaker of the UAE legislature Federal National Council, Ghurair and his family are ranked 258.
Saleh Kamel, 68, head of diversified Saudi group Dallah Albaraka group is estimated worth $2.6 billion. His global rich ranking is 367. Other rich Arabs on the Forbes list include Mohammed al-Issa. The 85-year-old has $2.4 billion in wealth.
UAE businessman Saif al-Ghurair and family's fortune is estimated $2.3 billion, ranking them 421 with Saudi Arabia's Abdullah al-Rajhi. Majid al-Futtaim, the shopping mall magnet from the UAE, has been ranked 463 with $2.1 billion wealth.-Agencies
|
|