Saudis dominate 2012 Arabian Business Rich List

Saudi Arabia based billionaires dominated the Arabian Business Rich List 2012, with 23 entrants based in the country. The top three in the list – HRH Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, the Olayan family and Mohammed Al Amoudi, all operate out of the kingdom, which accounts for five of the top ten slots.

Click here to see the full list of the world's richest Arabs.

UK-based billionaires also make a strong showing, accounting for five of the top 50, while the UAE takes just three slots – led by Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair, ranked in 12 place with US$6.4bn.

Saudi Arabia’s Prince Alwaleed topped the Arabian Business Rich List for the ninth year in succession, with his total current wealth now US$25.9bn.

The figure – verified by his private office – is a staggering US$4.6bn rise compared to 12 months ago. A large part of the increase is put down to the remarkable increase in the share price of Kingdom Holding, the company in which he owns a 95 percent stake. By early December, Kingdom shares were trading 147 percent higher compared to a year ago.

In an interview with Arabian Business, Prince Alwaleed – referring to his wealth – said:  “I know I am up but I didn’t know by this much - but it’s a very pleasant number and we welcome it as it shows that my shareholders at Kingdom have benefited too. “

Click here to see the full list of the world's richest Arabs.

He added: “For any chairman or CEO of a company, the main yardstick of the success comes from the strength of his balance sheet, the growth in income and the performance of his share price. These are the three indicators of success at the end of the year. In all these three, I say thanks to Kingdom Holding members – I never use the word employees. They number 24 people. That’s it. This is to the credit of all the members who contributed to this success. The share-price movement reflects the performance of the company.”

Click here to see the gallery of the world's richest Arabs.