The combined wealth of the ten richest Arabs in the UK now exceeds $17.5 billion, according to an annual ranking by the Sunday Times.
The Saudi Arabian business mogul Mohammed Bin Issa al-Jaber, who made his fortune in the hotels, restaurants and food industries, was ranked 15th as a new entrant on the newspaper’s annual Rich List.
The Jeddah-born al-Jaber, the top-ranking Arab on the list, amassed a fortune estimated at $6.8 billion as the founder of MBI International & Partners.
His empire includes JJW Hotels and Resorts, the Scotsman hotel in Edinburgh and Vienna's Grand Hotel. Al-Jaber describes himself on his website as a “self-made Saudi entrepreneur and philanthropist.”
The Sunday Times list was not confined to UK citizens, but involved non-English UK residents, the newspaper said.
There were at least 11 people of Arab descent or who were born in the Middle East and North Africa on the 1000-strong Rich List.
Mahdi al-Tajir, the UAE’s former ambassador to Britain, was the second highest-ranking Arab name on the list, at 44th place with an estimated fortune of $2.5 billion. Al-Tahir was also named as Scotland’s richest man. His wealth was amassed from businesses in oil, metals, property, transport, industry, and the famous Highland Spring bottled water.
Mohammed al-Fayed, the Egyptian business magnate, was ranked 67th on the Sunday Times list, with a net worth estimated at $1.7 billion. He is owner of the luxury online retailer Cocosa, Hotel Ritz Paris, as well as the English Premier Football team Fulham football club. He famously sold Harrods to the Qataris for £1.5bn, pocketing at least £900m from the 2010 deal. al-Fayed is known to be outspoken, not least after the death of his son Dodi al-Fayed, who died with Princess Diana in 1997.
Other Arab figures are Syrian-born Ayman Asfari, current CEO Petrofac, who ranked 69th on the list and is worth $1.7 billion, followed by Syrian-born Wafic Said, founder of Said Holdings Limited, an investment holding company.
Nadhim Auchi’s, a UK businessman of Iraqi origins, who is the founder and chairman of General Mediterranean Holding, was ranked 89th with a net worth of $1.5 billion.
Others on the list include Mohammed ‘Mo’ Ibrahim, Lebanese-born Marlon Abela, and Iraqi-born Nemir Kirdar.
Also Read
-
Saudi prince attacks Forbes rich list valuations
Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal has attacked the Forbes Billionaires List as flawed and biased against Middle Eastern businesses and asked ... Economy -
Four Saudis among worlds top 200 billionaires
Four Saudi citizens were named this year in Bloomberg Markets’ inaugural list of the 200 world’s richest people, whose net worth totals $2.7 trillion, ... Business -
World’s richest man Carlos Slim to invest ‘billions’ in Saudi
Mexican business tycoon Carlos Slim, the world’s richest man, is planning to pump billions of dollars of investment into Saudi Arabia. Al Riyadh ... Economy
