Top 20 billionaires’ across the MENA region reaching new heights in 2021

“If you are born poor, it’s not your mistake, but if you die poor, it’s your mistake”-Bill Gates. “If you don’t find a way to make money while you sleep, you will work until you die”-Warren Buffet.

The above mentioned are the popular statements quoted by renowned billionaires which are precisely pertinent in the 21 st century and more. Forbes has released its Arabs Billionaires list 2021. The list of richest persons may differ from year to year depending on their latest net worth and financial performance. But what makes them wealthiest and motivates them despite facing the inexorable and adversities of 2020, is what we will be looking at in this article. Read on for the top 20 Arab Billionaires and their secret to a wealthy and blissful life.

INTRODUCING THE BILLIONAIRES

1.NASSEF SAWIRI is an investor and a scion of Egypt’s wealthiest family. His most valuable asset is a nearly 6% stake in sportswear maker Adidas. In December 2020, he acquired a 5% stake in New York-listed firm Madison Square Garden Sports. He runs OCI, one of the world’s largest nitrogen fertilizer producers, with plants in Texas and Iowa. His current net worth is $8.3B.

2.ISAAD REBRAB & FAMILY, founded the Cevital, Algeria’s biggest privately-held company. Cevital owns one of the largest sugar refineries in the world, with the capacity to produce 2 million tons a year. The current net worth is $4.8B.

3.MAJID AL FUTTAIM & FAMILY, have founded retailing and entertainment giant Majid Al Futtaim Holding, known as MAF, in 1992. MAF owns and operates 13 hotels and 26 malls, including Mall of the Emirates in Dubai and the Mall of Egypt in Cairo. His son Tariq sits on the board while non-family members manage the conglomerate. The current net worth is $3.6B.

4.NAGUIB SAWIRIS is a scion of Egypt’s wealthiest family. He built a fortune in telecom, selling Orascom Telecom in 2011 to Russian telecom firm VimpelCom (now, Veon) in a multibillion-dollar transaction. He’s chairman of Orascom TMT Investments. Through his Media Globe Holdings, Sawiris owns 88% of pan-European pay-TV and video news network Euronews. His net worth is $3.2B.

5.ABDULLA BIN AHMAD AL GHURAIR & FAMILY, founded Mashreqbank, a leading U.A.E. bank, in 1967. His construction company did the exterior cladding of Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, and helped build the Dubai Metro. The net worth is $2.8B.

6.MOHAMED MANSOUR established General Motors dealerships in Egypt in 1975, later becoming one of GM’s biggest distributors worldwide. Mansour Group also has exclusive distribution rights for Caterpillar equipment in Egypt and seven other African countries. He served as Egypt’s Minister of Transportation from 2006 to 2009. His current net worth is $2.5B.

7.NAJIB MIKATI is the cofounder of Beirut-based investment firm M1 Group. His investments include stakes in South African telecom firm MTN, fashion retailer Pepe Jeans, and real estate in New York, London and Monaco. Mikati and his brother Taha founded Investcom in 1982. His current net worth is $2.5B.

8.TAHA MIKATI is the cofounder of Beirut-based holding company M1 Group. His investments include stakes in South African telecom firm MTN, fashion retailer Pepe Jeans, and prime real estate in New York, London and Monaco. In 2005, Investcom went public on the London Stock Exchange, and in 2009, South Africa’s MTN bought the Mikati’s stake for $3.6 billion. His current net worth is $2.5B.

9.HUSSAIN SAJWANI is the chairman of Dubai-based luxury real estate developer Damac Properties, which he founded in 2002. He started out in the food services business, catering to the U.S. military and construction giant Bechtel. In 2001, he shifted to real estate and sold units in a residential building in less than six months. Damac teamed up with Donald Trump in 2013 to develop two Trump-branded golf courses in Dubai developments. Sajwani is known for extravagant marketing, sometimes offering free Lamborghinis to apartment buyers. He has co-branding deals with Versace and Bugatti. His current net worth is $2.4B.

10.SUHAIL BAHWAN is the founder and chairman of Suhail Bahwan Group, one of the largest conglomerates in Oman. It is a major producer of fertilizers, generating 1.3 million tons of urea annually. He also owns Nissan and BWM dealerships. His current net worth is $2.3B.

11.ABDULLA AL FUTTAIM & FAMILY owns conglomerate Al Futtaim Group, run by the son Omar, who is vice-chairman. In 1955, the group became the exclusive distributor in the U.A.E. of Toyota, which has the leading share of the auto market with nearly 30%. Al Futtaim also has the license to operate Hertz, Ikea, Toys “R” Us and Zara in the U.A.E. The current net worth is $2.2B.

12.BAHAA HARIRI is the eldest son of slain Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. In 2008, he sold his stake in Saudi Oger, the family construction business, to his brother Saad Hariri, a former prime minister of Lebanon. Bahaa Hariri founded and chairs Horizon Group, a real estate holding company with investments in Amman, Jordan and Beirut, Lebanon. He’s the majority owner of Globe Express Services, a logistics company with a presence in more than 100 countries. His current net worth is $2B.

13.AZIZ AKHANNOUCH & FAMILY, run the Akwa Group, a multibillion-dollar conglomerate founded by his father and a partner, Ahmed Wakrim, in 1932. The interesting areas are petroleum, gas and chemicals through publicly-traded Afriquia Gaz and Maghreb Oxygene. Akhannouch is Morocco’s Minister of Agriculture and the president of the National Rally of Independents, a political party. The current net worth is $1.9B.

14.MOHAMED AL FAYED is best known for being the one-time owner of London department store Harrod’s, which he sold to Qatar for a reported $2.4 billion in 2010. He owns the storied Ritz Paris hotel. In 2013, he sold Fulham Football Club to U.S. auto parts billionaire Shahid Khan for a reported $300 million. His current net worth is $1.8B.

15.FAISAL BIN QASSIM AL THANI is the chairman of Al Faisal Holding, one of Qatar’s biggest conglomerates, which he founded in 1964. He owns more than 20 hotels around the world, including St. Regis in Washington, D.C. and Miami, and the W Hotel in London. Al Faisal Holding also has a majority stake in publicly traded Aamal, which owns real estate in Qatar and sells medical supplies and pharmaceuticals. His current net worth is $1.6B.

16.YOUSSEF MANSOUR is the chairman of family-owned conglomerate Mansour Group, which was founded by his father Loutfy in 1952. Mansour Group is the exclusive distributor of GM vehicles and Caterpillar equipment in Egypt and several other countries. He oversees the consumer goods division, which includes supermarket chain Metro, and sole distribution rights for L’Oréal in Egypt. His current net worth is $1.5B.

17.ROBERT MOUAWAD inherited the family’s legendary high-end jewellery business that his grandfather founded in Beirut in 1890. He turned over management of the business to his sons Fred, Alain, and Pascal in 2010. He boasts one of the world’s most dazzling gem collections, including Dynasty, a 51.12-carat Russian diamond estimated at nearly $10 million. His current net worth is $1.4B.

18.AYMAN HARIRI is the son of the late Rafik Hariri, Lebanon’s prime minister. He inherited a stake in his father’s Saudi-based construction company Saudi Oger. In 2017, he sold his 42% stake in family holding company GroupeMed, which has interests in banking and real estate, for $535 million. He is a co-founder and CEO of Vero, an ad-free social media platform that lets users share music, videos and photos. His current net worth is $1.3B.

19.HAMAD BIN JASSIM AL THANI was the prime minister of Qatar between 2007 and 2013; he also served as foreign minister from 1992 until 2013. Through an entity called Paramount Services Holdings, he owns 3% of Deutsche Bank, his biggest publicly traded holding. His current net worth is $1.3B.

20.OTHMAN BENJELLOUN & FAMILY: Othman Benjelloun is CEO of BMCE Bank of Africa, which has a presence in more than 20 African countries. His father was a shareholder in RMA, a Moroccan insurance company. Through his holding company FinanceCom, he has a stake in the Moroccan arm of French telecom firm Orange. He inaugurated in 2014 a $500 million plan to build the 55-story Mohammed VI Tower in Rabat. It will be one of the tallest buildings in Africa. The current net worth is $1.3B.

SECRET TIPS TO SUCCESS IN WEALTH

Just follow these lucid yet effective tips to become a billionaire in your life.

 Don’t blow your cash on stupid matters. Save your money, save every penny you can.

 Try to be greedy when others are fearful and you try to be very fearful when others are greedy. Warren Buffett’s consistent approach to investing has been key to his success. He’s made his fortune by bucking trends and betting on companies that have been overlooked by other investors.

 If you want to get rich, you need to be bold enough to take chances, even if your ideas seem a little insane. That risk-taking approach paid off in a big way for Eli Broad, the founder of KB Home, who has a net worth of $7.1 billion.

 Relying on others for your success is a recipe for disaster. Know yourself and trust the process.

 Great success may sometimes seem like it’s a matter of luck, but surely, it’s a matter of knowing when to seize a great opportunity, says Eric Schmidt, former CEO and current executive chairman of Google (net worth $13.1B).

 Most billionaires agree that passion is significant if you’re trying to achieve great success.

The path to financial success isn’t a straight line. Ask yourself these two questions daily and try to inculcate the right habit. How often do you allow yourself to dream big without talking yourself out of getting started right now? How will you know if you end up being successful? Think about it.