Newcomers have forced out more than half of those on last year’s Arabian Business Power 100 List, with 53 making the top 100 for the first time - five of whom have gone straight into the top 10.

Almost half of all the newcomers work in the arts and media; as entertainers, artists, fashion designers, film directors, actors and journalists - among them is Hisham Milhem who was the first Arab journalist to interview Obama after his inauguration as US president earlier this year.

However, the highest new entrant, and arguably the world’s most well known, is Iraqi journalist Muntadar Al Zaidi, who threw his shoes at former US President George W Bush, in protest at the US’s continuing occupation of his home country.

Zaidi hit the headlines again recently when he was sentenced to three years in prison by an Iraqi court for the attack.

At number six comes Palestinian theatre director Amir Nizar Zuabi, head of the Palestinian National Theatre, who is becoming globally renowned for his powerful plays that call for change in Middle East relations.

Next is Mohamed El Erian, dubbed “one of the sanest voices on Wall Street”, who is CEO of US-based Pacific Investment Management Co (PIMCO), home to the world’s largest bond fund.

Hailing from Egypt, ranking number seven, he is also an acclaimed author, most recently penning ‘When Markets Collide’, which was awarded the FT/Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year last October.

Syrian Dr Mohamed Nedal Alchaar, secretary general of the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions, takes eighth place.

As the head of the body charged with Sharia compliant regulation Alchaar is a key player in the rapid growth of this industry, tipped to become even more prominent, as Western governments look to lslamic finance for funds.

And in the number 10 spot is the hugely popular Saudi Arabian actor, Fayez Al Maliki, who bought cinema back to life in the Kingdom in December last year when he appeared in “Menahi’ - the first film to be screened in the country for 30 years.

Comments (3)

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Please!!
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!

Need to Know the List
Posted by umar farooq, Lahore, Pakistan on 24 July 2009 at 09:41 UAE time

Must be quite inetersting to know the Power 100

Very interesting
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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