Dubai has the highest number of self-made billionaires in the Gulf region, according to a new report.
Hurun, which releases a global rich list each year, has produced a sublist of the Gulf Self-Made Billionaires 2017.
Top of the list of richest self-made individuals based in the Gulf is Majid al Futtaim, with $13bn, followed by Mohammed al Amoudi of Corral Petroleum with $8.1bn.
In total, there are 27 self-made Gulf billionaires, with 16 of those living in the UAE, followed by Saudi Arabia (7) and Oman (3), all of whom have a combined wealth of $84bn. Average wealth among those on the list hits $2.2bn, up 10% year on year.
The preferred city for those on the list is Dubai 12 billionaires choosing the emirate as their choice of residence, followed by Jeddah, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh and Muscat.
With a personal wealth of $1.5bn, Divyank Turakhia of media.net, 35, is youngest self-made Gulf billionaire, according to the list, which has an average age of 65.
Rupert Hoogewerf, chairman and chief researcher of Hurun Report, admitted that there are more than just 27 self-made billionaires in the region.
“If we managed to find 27 self-made billionaires, you can be sure there must be close to 100 self-made billionaires in the Gulf, since for every one that we have found, we have missed at least two if not more,” Hoogewerf said.
The only billionaire who migrated out from the Gulf is Mahdi Al-Tajir, who lives in London and Scotland and owns bottled water brand Highland Spring. He is worth $1.8bn, according to the list.
Table 1: Top 10 Hurun Gulf Self Made Global Rich List 2017
Source: Hurun Research Institute 2017
Follow us on
