Four UAE names in Forbes’ billionaires list

The UAE is represented by four billionaires in the just released list of world’s top billionaires by Forbes magazine, with Mashreq bank Chairman and CEO Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair ranked #1 in the UAE and #426 globally, with his fortune estimated at $2.7bn.

“[Al Ghurair and family] took a hit for its exposure to real estate and overleveraged companies,” the magazine wrote, and estimates that the family has lost $6.2bn in net worth since 2008, when Forbes reckoned Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair and family were worth $8.9bn.

At #2 in the UAE and #736 worldwide is Saif Al Ghurair, chairman of the Al Ghurair Group and with an estimated net worth of $1.7bn. Saif Al Ghurair and family, one of Dubai's oldest merchant families with interests in banking, malls and manufacturing, too have lost more than $1bn since 2008, when Forbes reckoned their net worth at $2.8bn.

With a net worth of $1.3bn, Abdullah Al Futtaim of the Al Futtaim Group – which operates Ikea, Toys “R” Us, and Marks & Spencer franchises; sells Toyota, Jeep, Dodge and Lexus, and co-owns the Middle East’s largest privately-funded urban community, Dubai Festival City – is #3 in the UAE and #938 overall. Abdullah Al Futtaim’s fortune has dwindled from an estimated $3bn in 2007, but has grown from $1.1bn last year.

Rounding up the list of UAE entries in the Forbes list is Majid Al Futtaim, brother of Abdullah Al Futtaim and chairman of the MAF Group of Companies that oversees a string of City Centre malls in the UAE and across the region, and also the Mall of the Emirates. His net worth is estimated at $1.2bn in 2011, down from $3bn in 2009.

In fact, had the Forbes list taken into account the fact that a number of individuals on the list from other countries such as India, for instance, operate out of the UAE and have amassed their firtunes from this very country, the list would have been longer than the four current representatives. At #376, Micky Jagtiani, a resident of Dubai, UAE, and owner of the Dubai-headquartered Landmark Group, has an estimated fortune of $3bn, but since he is Indian, he represents India on the Forbes list.

Together, the billionaires on Forbes’ global list hold $4.5 trillion in net worth, and represent about 2.3 per cent of the world’s wealth.

With an estimated  net worth of $74bn, Mexico’s Carlos Slim Helu and family once again top the global Forbes list for 2011, followed by Bill Gates ($56bn), Warren Buffett ($50bn), Bernard Arnault ($41bn) and Larry Ellison ($39.5bn).

Among other GCC entries, Saudi Arabia’s Prince Alwaleed bin Talal is ranked #26 on the list, with an estimated fortune of $19.6bn, down $4.1bn since 2005, when the magazine reckoned his net worth at $23.7bn, but up marginally since last year, when he was reckoned to hold $19.4bn. Prince Alwaleed is the largest individual shareholder in Citigroup and announced a $500m investment in GM’s IPO last November, besides chairing the listed Saudi conglomerate Kingdom Holdings.

In all, there are 15 entries from the three GCC countries of UAE, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, with a combined net worth of $74.9bn held by these individuals.

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