Here we go again....Yes, for the third year running, it is rich list time.
Our exclusive guide to the world's fifty richest Arabs is published online, and it contains more surprises than ever before. You can view the estimated wealth and profiles of the wealthiest Arabs on planet Earth.
So just who are they? Well, the biggest surprise is that, for the first time ever, the top slot has changed. Saudi Arabia's Prince Alwaleed is no longer at number one, having been displaced by Lebanese investor Carlos Slim Helu. With a fortune of US$34.6bn, we also rank him as the third richest man in the world, behind Bill Gates and Warren Buffett.
It is of course Helu's first appearance on the list. We had considered including him in previous years, but it was only in the last three months that our researchers uncovered the true scale of his success: by any measure, he controls at least 90% of the telecommunications industry in Mexico. He is also president of TelMex, worth US$20bn, and heads up Mexico's largest mobile operator Movil. Add to that his wider interests in retailing, banking and even a restaurant chain, and we have no doubt that Helu deserves to be in pole position this year.
Not that any of this is a bad reflection on Prince Alwaleed, who has in fact had another great year. His wealth has nudged up by US$2bn to US$28bn, and the next twelve months promise to be even more lucrative, with a likely flotation of his Kingdom Holdings empire.
This year's list contains not just a record eleven new entries, but a number of other very impressive performances. Mashreqbank founder Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair crosses the US$7bn barrier, with his bank by far now the fastest-growing throughout the region. We also include for the first time the hugely successful Gargash and Galadari families, while another UAE-based business legend - Khalaf Al Habtoor - this year celebrated not just his company's 35th anniversary, but a doubling of his wealth. Everywhere you look in the list, wealth appears to be splashing around. Which begs the question - didn't all the Gulf's stock markets crash in recent months? And if so, how come so many people have done so well?
True, most markets are down, but members of our rich list, for the most part, have very small holdings in stock markets. Whilst we have excluded royalty and politicians from the list, most members are owners of family businesses built up over many years, with no exposure to market volatility. While many people have seen their shares plummet in value, the asset value of many Arabs on the list has only risen. This year's rich list has been compiled by:
Massoud A. Derhally, Anil Bhoyrul, Boyd Farrow, Tamara Walid, Melissa Hancock, Andrew White, and Alexandra Dubsky.
Bahrain
Kuwait
Oman
Qatar
Saudi Arabia
UAE
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