Leading Saudi businessman, Saleh Abdullah Kamel, known as “the father of contemporary Islamic finance”, has died at the age of 79.
Kamel, who was the chairman and founder of the Dallah Al-Baraka Group, one of the Middle East’s largest conglomerates, passed away in Jeddah on Monday.
Born in Makkah, the billionaire businessman earned a bachelor’s degree in commerce form the University of Riyadh in 1963.
Kamal was chairman of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Islamic Chamber of Commerce was a member of the boards of trustees and directors in many social, charitable and cultural societies and foundations such as the Arab Thought Foundation, King Abdul Aziz and His Companions Foundation for Gifted, the international academy for info & Media Sciences, Arab Academy for Financial & Banking and the Islamic Solidarity fund.
He was involved in efforts to expand trade significantly among member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. And as chairman of Dallah Al-Baraka Group, he led numerous projects to promote Saudi Arabia as a regional economic force.
In November 2010, he received Malaysia’s Royal Award for Islamic Finance in November 2010.
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