Dubai – (Masaader News)
Saudi Arabia counts the most billionaires; they are also the richest: 10 have a combined net worth of $42.1 billion. Prince Alwaleed remains the richest, adding $1.5 billion to his fortune, which totals $18.7 billion.According to Forbes Middle East.
The second richest are Emiratis with a total net worth of $27.3 billion. Lebanon has the highest number of billionaires per capita.
The aggregate net worth of the richest Arabs climbed by 29.2% over last year to $123.4 billion, spread among 42 billionaires
U.A.E.’s Majid Al Futtaim, who continues to open Carrefour hypermarkets across the Middle East, Asia and Africa (Kenya became MAF’s first outpost in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2016), his net worth more than double to $10.6 billion. That put him in second place, knocking Mohammed Al Amoudi down a rung.
In the April issue, Forbes Middle East also unveils its second annual ranking of billionaire families, whose name recognition might not be on a par with the Trumps, but they play a crucial role in the economic fabric of Arab countries. All are Gulf-based. Whereas more than 70% of individual billionaires are self-made, three-quarters of the 12 billionaire families on our list inherited their wealth, when the business was passed on from father to sons and daughters. They’ve carried on patriarchal legacies and built on it.