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Trump's UAE associate among world's richest Arabs

Dubai - Prince Alwaleed bin Talal remains at the top with an estimated net worth of $18.7 billion, up by $1.4 billion.

Five UAE billionaires, including US President Donald Trump's UAE associate Hussain Sajwani, feature among the world's richest Arabs in the 2017 rankings by Forbes Middle East.

Defying the uncertainty in global oil prices, the aggregate net worth of the richest Arabs climbed by 29.2 per cent over last year to $123.4 billion, spread among 42 billionaires.

Prince Alwaleed bin Talal remains at the top with an estimated net worth of $18.7 billion, up by $1.4 billion.

For the first time, the UAE's Majid Al Futtaim lands in the No. 2 spot at $10.6 billion, followed by Saudi Arabia's Mohammed Al Amoudi, who is worth $8.1 billion.

Overall, there are five Emirati billionaires in the list, worth a combined $22 billion. They are Majid Al Futtaim (rank: #2; net worth: $10.6b), Abdulla bin Ahmed Al Ghurair (#4; $6.8b), Abdulla Al Futtaim (#6; $4.1b), Hussain Sajwani (#10; $3.7b), and Saif Al Ghurair (#19; $2.1b).

In the overall list, there are two new entrants: Qatar's former prime minister, Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, who has an estimated net worth of $1.3 billion. He holds a 3 per cent stake in Deutsche Bank.

Mohammed Serafi, also a newcomer, is one of the largest individual investors in the Saudi stock market, with a net worth of $1 billion. He has shares in real estate company Taiba Holding and Makkah Construction and Development Company, among others.

"With a mild recovery in crude prices and the region's stock markets bouncing back from the lows of 2016, it has been a good year for the region's billionaires," said Khuloud Al Omian, Editor in Chief of Forbes Middle East.

With 10 billionaires, Saudi Arabia claims the highest number of billionaires with an aggregate net worth of $42 billion, followed by Lebanon and Egypt with 7 billionaires each.