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It is that time of the year again, when by around midday on Sunday, I will have received hundreds of phone calls, emails and text messages, largely from people I don't know. And none of them will be particularly complimentary.
Yes, it is publication time for the Arabian Business Power List - our guide to the 100 most influential Arabs on the Arabs on the planet. Emotions always tend to run high when any kind of listing is produced and none more so than with a power list.
This is, after all, the list everybody wants to be in.
I will keep my counsel on the number of high-profile business leaders who have personally called me in recent weeks to "make a case" for their appearance on this year's list. And I don't blame them. I would do exactly the same. Power is, after all, the one thing most people want and desire - much as they will deny it.
But what exactly is power? For the purpose of this year's list (as with every year), we have defined it simply as influence - the ability to influence the thoughts and actions of others. Or put crudely, if one man dyed his hair green, how many others would follow? The more that did, the more powerful that man is.
Which is why, for example, we have ranked the Iraqi football captain Younes Mahmoud as the second most powerful Arab in the world. His winning goal against Saudi Arabia last year in the Asian Cup final had the immediate effect of bringing out Sunnis and Shiites, hand in hand in celebration, on the streets of Baghdad. Could George Bush ever achieve that?
It is why we rank the Lebanese fashion designer Elie Saab at Number 9. Not only is he dressing up celebrities like Halle Berry, Christina Aguilera, Beyonce, Catherine Zeta Jones and Elizabeth Hurley, but he is setting the fashion world alight from New York to Tokyo, changing the way millions of people around the globe dress.
It is why DIC boss Sameer Al Ansari is at Number 11. What other businessman in the world, never mind Arab businessman, could have inspired 40,000 Liverpool soccer fans to chant his name every weekend?
In total, this year's list contains over 40 brand-new entries. From poets to musicians and artists to academics, I believe this is the most comprehensive listing of Arab power ever published.
I also know that almost every single reader of Arabian Business will disagree with practically every name and every ranking in the list. Some will be hurt, some will be upset, some will be just downright angry.
They shouldn't be. This list is a celebration and showcase of the fabulous achievements and influence of Arabs on the global stage today. And that is why we will continue to publish it every year.
*The Arabian Business Power List deliberately does not include royalty, religious leaders or politicians, with the exception of HRH Prince Alwaleed who we believe should be on the list purely for his business achievements.
Anil Bhoyrul is the Editorial Director of ITP Executive.
RELATED LINKS: Arabian Business Power 100
Posted by alain morin, jounieh, lebanon on 22 November 2009 at 13:31 UAE time
it is ridiculous to put such names, is marcel khalifa more powerful than feyrouz, is it Ziad better tha rahbani sons, Marwan, and his sons
other people are not even known by the Lebanese, wher is the media like marcel ghanim, or others
Posted by Abdullah, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on 6 October 2009 at 03:17 UAE time
I'm Saudi, and I don't think Fayez Al Maliki should make any list here. No disrespect, but he's no where near any influencial status, he's not the best saudi actor, he's not very popular. he's the subject of jokes. it's just that MBC and Rotana keeps enforcing him and other nobodys in our Ramadan after breakfast time! he's not the director, he's not the guy behind this (Prince Al-Waleed)...I'm not sure i'd be interested in reading your lists again if the #10 is a nobody!
Posted by umar farooq, Lahore, Pakistan on 24 July 2009 at 09:41 UAE time
Must be quite inetersting to know the Power 100
Posted by Sami, Beirut, Lebanon on 22 May 2009 at 19:08 UAE time
I can't deny that I'm a bit surprised with the list... Also surprised that many names are very new to me... But that's a good thing, for then I can search and find out who they are (tried it on some, and it's amazing what people have been achieving)...
But 2 quick remarks:
- Couldn't but be proud to be Lebanese, seeing that 17 names out of the hundred came out of our small country, which is war torn and has one of the lowest populations... I'm just wondering if all our Middle East finds peace, how much can we all achieve!
- One has to still admit that the ratio of men to women is quite high... Although some women made the list, but it's clear that we still live in a society that doesn't give women all the potential to realise themselves...
Great work and I have some more searching to do :)
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