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In 2020, Hurun Global reported that UAE is home to 24 Billionaires, making it the 20th country with the highest number of billionaires worldwide. The country houses the highest number of Billionaires in the Middle East and North Africa region, with over $69.2 Billion of wealth combined.
Dubai is considered to be the most innovative country with luxurious development. The city might be considered small compared to other cities of the Middle East, with only 3,302,000 people residing in it; it is considered to be the 2nd most expensive city in the Middle East and being 20th in the world. The city is home to most of the wealthiest people in the UAE, including the people in the list below.
Mohammed Khalaf Al Habtoor
Mohammed Khalaf Al Habtoor, born on September 30, 1968, is the son of a business magnate, Khalaf Al Habtoor, who owns the company Al Habtoor Group which is an Emirati Conglomerate. Habtoor currently has a net worth of $2 Billion, which earns him a spot on the list. He studied in Dubai Al Ittihad Private School, Al Mamzar, and right after graduation, he flew to the United States to further his studies.
He has earned a degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management at ATI Career Institute and earned certifications in different business short courses from the University of Surrey, Cornell University, and the University of Slough.
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Hussain Sajwani
With a net worth of $2.5 Billion, Emirati Hussain Sajwani takes the fourth spot on the list. Hussain Sajwani, born in 1953, is the founder of a property development company known as the DACAM Properties and has a private investment company called DICO Group. The company DAMAC Properties was known worldwide and even ranked no. 1 on the annual list of fastest-growing global companies on the Forbes 2017 Global 2000 list.
His investment company also expanded worldwide with its tie-up with global fashion house Roberto Cavalli Group in 2018 to help them design the interiors for the AYKON Hotels that they plan to launch in Dubai. Sajwani was also listed on the 100 most Influential Arabs Globally on the list of Gulf Business in 2017, 2018, and 2020. In 2019, Sajwani acquired the company Italian fashion group Roberto Cavalli, in order to offer more services to their consumers.
Yusuff Ali Musaliam Veettil Abdul Kader
Yusuff Ali Musaliam Veettil Abdul Kader, who is also known as Yusuff Ali MA, takes the third spot on the list. With about $4.9 Million of wealth, M.A Yusuff Ali joins the richest billionaires in UAE. Yusuff Ali Musaliam Veettil Abdul Kader is an Indian businessman and billionaire based in UAE. He is known to be the king of retail. Born in the village of Kerala state in South India, Yusuff has left the village to go to Dubai to join his uncle in his small distribution business. He eventually succeeded in the retail world and is currently the chairman and managing director of the company LuLu Group International.
The said company owns the LuLu Hypermarket chain that has worldwide branches and the LuLu International Shopping Mall. On the billion net worth of Yussuf are his assets that include the Great Scotland Yard Hotel and the Waldorf Astoria in Scotland. He also owns a number of luxury cars and a private jet which costs about $29.5 million, that was bought from a Brazilian Aviation Company.
Abdullah bin Ahmad Al Ghurair
Abdullah bin Ahmad Al Ghurair, the founder of Mashreqbank bank, has a net worth of $6 Billion. Mashreqbank bank is the leading UAE bank which was founded on the year 1967. Though Ghurair had already stepped down as the bank's chairman in October 2019, he has remained a board member of the company. The company later on expanded and has stakes in different companies like food, real estate, and construction. The company's construction division did the exterior of the Burj Khalifa and also built the Dubai Metro. As of the moment, his son Abdul Aziz manages the company and serving as the CEO of the company.
Majid Al Futtaim
Majid Al Futtaim has a net worth of $6.1 Billion as a founder of the retailing and entertainment giant company Majid Al Futtaim Holding. Founded in the year 1992, Majid Al Futtaim Holding, also known as MAF, currently operates about 13 hotels and 26 malls that include the Mall of Egypt in Cairo and Mall of the Emirates in Dubai. MAF is leading in its industry with an exclusive license to operate different hypermarkets for the French company called Carrefour that is across North Africa, Central Asia, and the Middle East.
Sources: Arabian Business, StartUpTalky, Forbes, CelebrityNetWorth