Covid: Arab billionaires' wealth grows by Dh22 billion amid pandemic

Dubai - Forbes’s annual World's Billionaires ranking for 2021 featured the world’s 2,755 richest people.

The Forbes’ 35th Annual World Billionaires list showed that 22 Arabs, including four Emiratis, have made the grade this year, as against 21 in 2020.

Their combined fortune climbed by Dh22.4 billion (b) to Dh196b in 2021, as compared to Dh173.6b in 2020.

The billionaire list includes six Egyptians, six Lebanese, four Emiratis, two Qataris, two Moroccans, an Algerian, and an Omani national.

Though this year's list dropped Kuwait's Kutayba Alghanim, it added back Qatar's Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani, who has an estimated wealth of Dh4.78b, and Morocco's Othman Benjelloun and family with a similar fortune.

Forbes’s annual World's Billionaires ranking for 2021 featured the world’s 2,755 richest people.

The list has 660 more names than 2020, including 493 new entrants.

Egypt's Nassef Sawiris is the wealthiest Arab. His net worth is Dh30.49b, an increase of Dh12.12 since last year.

His most valuable asset is around six per cent stake in sportswear maker Adidas. He also runs OCI, one of the world's largest nitrogen fertiliser producers, with plants in Texas and Iowa in the US.

Algeria's only billionaires, Issad Rebrab & family, are the world's second-richest Arabs, worth Dh17.63b.

Rebrab is the founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Cevital, Algeria's largest privately-held company.

Cevital owns one of the largest sugar refineries globally, with the capacity to produce two million tonnes of refined sugar a year. Oman's only billionaire, Suhail Bahwan, is valued at Dh8.45b.

Lebanese jeweller Robert Mouawad is the only billionaire living in Bahrain and is valued at Dh5.14b.

Najib and Taha Mikati are the only Lebanese billionaires living in Lebanon and are worth Dh9.18b each.

Bahaa, Ayman, and Fahd Hariri, who are the sons of the former Prime Minister of Lebanon, Rafiq Hariri, are living in Europe and are worth Dh7.35b, Dh4.78b, and Dh4.04b, respectively.

Forbes has not considered the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) for the ranking since 2018.

World's Top 10 Richest Arabs 2021

1-Nassef Sawiris

Net worth 2021: Dh30.49b

Nationality: Egyptian

2-Issad Rebrab & family

Net worth 2021: Dh17.63b

Nationality: Algerian

3-Majid Al Futtaim & family

Net worth 2021: Dh13.22b

Nationality: Emirati

4-Naguib Sawiris

Net worth 2021: Dh11.75b

Nationality: Egyptian

5-Abdulla bin Ahmad Al Ghurair & family

Net worth 2021: Dh10.28b