Richest Arabs: Youngest billionaire, wealthiest family…

Five new billionaires were added to the list of richest Arabs last year, including Hussain Sajwani and Abdul Wahid Al Rostamani from the UAE, Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani of Qatar, and Suhail Bahwan and Mohammed Saud Bahwan of Oman.

Prince Alwaleed of Saudi Arabia remains the wealthiest Arab in the world, even though his net worth fell by more than 20 per cent from a year ago.

In fact, 2015 was a year that saw the combined new worth of the world’s richest Arabs decline by almost a quarter (23.8 per cent) from a year ago.

Forbes Middle East has ranked six UAE residents in the list of the World’s Richest Arabs, with Lebanon boasting of one more billionaire than the UAE.

Youngest Arab Billionaire

Among the seven Lebanese billionaires is the youngest Arab billionaire, Fahd Hariri (youngest son of former Lebanese PM Rafik Hariri).

Fahd Hariri is ranked at No. 32 among the richest Arabs, with a net worth of $1.2 billion. While he currently lives in Paris, he develops residential buildings in Beirut, says the Forbes report.

UAE Billionaires

Emirates 24|7 reported last month that 12 UAE residents now feature in the Forbes’ 2016 Billionaires List, with a combined net worth of a whopping $36.2 billion (Dh133bn).

The number of billionaires in UAE has been growing, from eight in 2014 to 10 in 2015 to 12 in 2016.

Read: Record UAE tycoons in world's top billionaires

The combined wealth that the UAE’s billionaires have at their disposal has surged $2.1bn (Dh7.7bn) from $34.1bn (Dh125bn) last year.

That list included expat residents who have made the UAE their home.

Billionaires Per Capita

Lebanon is one the countries with the highest number of billionaires per capita in the world.

Saudi billionaires are the richest with a combined net worth of $34.6 billion. The second richest are from the UAE with a combined net worth of $19.7 billion.

• Saudi Arabia: 6 billionaires, worth $34.6 billion

• UAE: 6 billionaires, worth $19.7 billion

• Egypt: 6 billionaires, worth $14.2 billion

• Lebanon: 7 billionaires, worth $12.5 billion

• Oman: 3 billionaires, worth $6.2 billion

• Morocco: 2 billionaires, worth $3.2 billion

• Algeria: 1 billionaire, worth $3.1 billion

• Qatar: 1 billionaire, worth $2 billion

Richest Arab

Saudi Arabia’s Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud retains his No. 1 slot among the world’s richest Arabs even as his net worth has suffered a decline of $5.3bn – from $22.6bn last year to $17.3bn this year.

The Prince owns stakes in private and public companies in the US, Europe and the Middle East through Kingdom Holding Co, the magazine notes.

10 Wealthiest Arabs

#1 Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud

#2 Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi

#3 Majid Al Futtaim

#4 Abdulla bin Ahmad Al Ghurair & family

#5 Nassef Onsi Sawiris

#6 Prince Sultan bin Mohammed bin Saud Al Kabeer

#7 Suhail Salim Bahwan

#8 Hussain Sajwani

#9 Abdullah Al Futtaim

#10 Naguib Onsi Sawiris

New Arab billionaires

Suhail Bahwan (Oman): Ranked #7, net worth $3.4 billion.

Hussain Sajwani (UAE): Ranked #8, net worth $3.2 billion

Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani (Qatar): Ranked #18, net worth $2 billion

Abdul Wahid Al Rostamani (U.A.E.) – Ranked #28, net worth $1.3 billion

Mohammed Saud Bahwan (Oman) – Ranked #28, net worth $1.3 billion.

Richest Families

Families remain pillars of Arab economies, providing jobs and stability. Saudi Arabia again tops the rich list, with 12 of the 15 richest families. Nine out of the 15 families in the list made a fortune owning licensing rights to foreign brands, mostly American, says Forbes ME.

• Olayan (Saudi Arabia) – Ranked #1, net worth $8 billion

The 69-year-old Olayan Group remains one of the largest family-owned holdings in the Middle East. It has partnerships with Kimberly Clark, Coca-Cola and General Foods, among other companies, and is a major investor in stock markets.

• Alshaya (Kuwait) – Ranked #2, net worth $5.billion

Founded in 1890, M.H. Alshaya Co. operates more than 2,800 stores across the Middle East, Russia, Poland and the Czech Republic, including Starbucks, H&M and The Body Shop.

• Al-Kharafi (Kuwait) – Ranked #2, net worth $5.billion

Founded by the late Mohammed Abdulmohsin Al-Kharafi, the Kharafi Group is one of the Middle East’s biggest conglomerates and a major investor in the Kuwaiti stock market.

• Abudawood (Saudi Arabia) – Ranked #4, net worth $4 billion

The late Ismail Ali Abudawood founded a small wholesale business in 1935 in Jeddah. Two decades later, the Abudawood Group became the exclusive agent for Procter & Gamble.

• Alajlan (Saudi Arabia) – Ranked #5, net worth $2.6 billion

Ajlan Alajlan opened a small shop in Riyadh in 1978. He and his brothers now own five garment factories in China, and sell clothing in more than 6,000 stores throughout the Gulf.

• Al Jaber (UAE) – Ranked #6, net worth $2.5 billion

Founded in 1970, to date the Al Jaber Group has laid 7,000 kilometers of roads in the Emirates, and is the largest private sector employer in the country with more than 60,000 workers.

• Khalid Bugshan & Family (Saudi Arabia) – Ranked #7, net worth $2 billion

Holding Abdullah Said Bugshan Co., founded in 1923, was split between Khalid and his two cousins, Ahmed and Abdullah in 1998. Khalid Bugshan is CEO of Saudi Bugshan Group.

• Alhokair (Saudi Arabia) – Ranked #8, net worth $1.8 billion

Fawaz Alhokair Group is Saudi Arabia’s most valuable retail company with 11 shopping centers across the country, and rights to global brands including Zara, Gap, Nine West and Topshop.

• Ahmed Salem Bugshan & Family (Saudi Arabia) – Ranked #8, net worth $1.8 billion

Ahmed Salem Bugshan is chairman of one of three offshoots of Abdullah Said Bugshan Co. The group owns half of the Pepsi bottling and distribution operation in Saudi Arabia.

• Sharbatly (Saudi Arabia) – Ranked #10, net worth $1.7 billion

Founded in the 1930s, the Al Nahla Group is a conglomerate with interests in automobiles, food and real estate. It owns 40 million square meters of land in Saudi Arabia.

• Alrashed (Saudi Arabia) – Ranked #11, net worth $1.6 billion

Rashed AlRashed founded AlRashed Group in 1950, selling building materials during Saudi Arabia’s construction boom.  He later diversified into real estate, automotive parts and food.

• Al-Dabbagh (Saudi Arabia) – Ranked #12, net worth $1.5 billion

Abdullah Al-Dabbagh founded the Al Dabbagh Group in 1962. Amr Al-Dabbagh, who was chairman of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority, now heads the family holding.

• Jameel (Saudi Arabia) – Ranked #12, net worth $1.5 billion

In 1955, Abdul Latif Jameel won exclusive rights to distribute Toyota in Saudi Arabia. He passed away in 1993, and son Mohammed became chairman and president of Abdul Latif Jameel Co.

• Al-Agil (Saudi Arabia) – Ranked #14, net worth $1.3 billion

Brothers Mohammed, Abdulkarim, Abdulsalam, Abdullah and Nasser opened Jarir Bookstore after graduating. Jarir went public in 2003, now selling smartphones, office supplies and laptops.

• Al Subeaei (Saudi Arabia) – Ranked #15, net worth $1 billion

Mohammed and his brother Abdullah founded the Alsubeaei Company in 1933. In 2010, the second generation divided the assets and Mohammed’s family formed MASIC.

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