Dh63 billion wealth: Telegram founder Pavel Durov is now UAE's richest person

Dubai - Durov accounts for nearly 40 per cent of all of the UAE billionaires’ wealth.

Eleven UAE residents have been named among the world’s richest people in 2021 with two new entrants joining the league.

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In all, they control a total of $43.4 billion (Dh159 billion) in wealth.

Pavel Durov, the founder and owner of messaging app Telegram, is the richest UAE resident with a staggering $17.2 billion (Dh63 billion) in 2021, according to Forbes’ list of billionaires released on Wednesday.

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Durov accounts for nearly 40 per cent of all of the UAE billionaires’ wealth.

Ranked 112nd in Forbes’ richest list, Durov is the first UAE resident to be ranked among the top 200 billionaires.

Durov’s wealth grew exponentially recently after his messaging app Telegram, which has more than 500 million users worldwide, became popular after Facebook-owned WhatsApp announced new privacy policy.

As a result, Durov’s wealth has grown by over 405 per cent in a year from $3.4 billion in 2020 to $17.2 billion in 2021.

Others who made to the list include MA Yusuffali, Majid Al Futtaim & family, Abdullah Al Ghurair & family, Micky Jagtiani, Ravi Pillai, Hussain Sajwani, Abdullah Al Futtaim, Thaksin Shinawatra, Saket Burman and Sunny Varkey.

Below is the complete list of the UAE’s 11 richest people released by Forbes for 2021:

Pavel Durov

Wealth: $17.2 billion

Global ranking: #112

Source of wealth: Messaging app Telegram

Citizenship: Russia

MA Yusuffali

Wealth: $4.8 billion

Global ranking: #589

Source of wealth: Retail (LuLu Group)

Citizenship: India

Majid Al Futtaim & family

Wealth: $3.6 billion

Global ranking: #831

Source of wealth: Real estate, retail, etc.

Citizenship: UAE

Abdullah Al Ghurair & family

Wealth: $2.8 billion

Global ranking: #1111

Source of wealth: Banking, real estate etc.

Citizenship: UAE

Micky Jagtiani

Wealth: $2.8 billion

Global ranking: #1111

Source of wealth: Retail (Landmark Group)

Citizenship: India

Ravi Pillai

Wealth: $2.5 billion

Global ranking: #1249

Source of wealth: Construction

Citizenship: India

Hussain Sajwani

Wealth: $2.4 billion

Global ranking: #1299