Emirati businessman Mohamed Alabbar, founder and managing director of Emaar Properties, ranked 20th on Forbes Middle East’s World’s Richest Arabs 2025 list and second on the Most Impactful Real Estate Leaders 2025 list, reflecting his far-reaching influence across real estate, finance, and technology.
First Appearance on the Forbes World’s Billionaires List
Alabbar appeared on the Forbes World’s Billionaires List for the first time in 2025, with an estimated net worth of $2.3 billion as of March 7, 2025. His wealth is built on a diversified portfolio spanning real estate, technology, e-commerce, food and beverages, and financial services.
A Vast Real Estate Portfolio
With more than three decades of experience, Alabbar founded Emaar Properties in 1997 and built it into one of the Middle East’s largest and most influential real estate developers. Emaar’s portfolio includes residential, commercial, retail, hospitality, entertainment, and mixed-use developments across the Middle East, North Africa, and Asia.
The company owns approximately 1.7 billion square feet of land and has delivered more than 120,000 residential units globally since 2002. As of March 2025, Emaar owns and operates 40 hotels with around 9,800 rooms.
Listed on the Dubai Financial Market in 2000, Emaar is the developer behind landmark projects such as Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, and The Dubai Mall. In June 2024, The Dubai Mall announced a major expansion valued at approximately $408.4 million.
Alabbar stepped down as chairman of Emaar in 2020 to focus on executive management and day-to-day operations, assuming the role of managing director.
In 2024, Emaar posted record results, reporting its highest-ever revenues of $9.7 billion and real estate sales of $19 billion, representing a 72 percent increase year on year. Total assets reached $43.6 billion, while the company added 141 million square feet of development land with a total development value of $26 billion.
Global Expansion Through Eagle Hills
In 2014, Alabbar founded Eagle Hills, an Abu Dhabi-based real estate development company that now operates in 10 countries across three continents. Its portfolio spans projects in the Gulf, Europe, and Africa.
One of its most prominent developments is Belgrade Waterfront in Serbia, a large-scale urban regeneration project whose total value is expected to exceed $12.5 billion upon completion. In January 2025, Eagle Hills also signed a memorandum of understanding with the Georgian government to invest $6 billion in development projects.
Americana Restaurants
A significant portion of Alabbar’s wealth comes from his 33 percent stake in Americana Restaurants, the Middle East’s largest operator of fast food chains, which is listed on the Saudi Exchange and the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange.
Founded in Kuwait in 1964, Americana Restaurants was acquired in 2016 by Adeptio AD Investments Limited, a joint venture between Alabbar and the Saudi Public Investment Fund. Adeptio currently owns 66.03 percent of the company.
As chairman of the board, Alabbar oversees a portfolio that includes global brands such as KFC and Pizza Hut. The company operates 2,630 restaurants across 12 countries in the Middle East, North Africa, and Kazakhstan. In the first quarter of 2025, Americana reported a 16.2 percent increase in revenues to $573.4 million, following a challenging 2024 impacted by regional geopolitical tensions and currency volatility.
Technology, E-commerce, and Digital Banking
Alabbar launched the e-commerce platform Noon in 2017, headquartered in Riyadh, in partnership with the Saudi Public Investment Fund, which holds a 50 percent stake. The platform was established with an initial investment of $1 billion to support the region’s digital economy.
In 2023, Noon acquired fashion retailer Namshi in a $335 million deal. Namshi operates across Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, and Qatar.
Alabbar is also a major investor in Middle East Venture Partners, a venture capital firm focused on technology investments across the Middle East, North Africa, and Turkey.
In the financial sector, he launched Zand Digital Bank in 2021. The bank received its UAE Central Bank license in 2022 and, in December 2024, became the first approved UAE digital bank to offer digital asset custody services. Alabbar currently serves as chairman of Zand’s board of directors.
Education and Leadership Style
Alabbar holds a degree in Financial and Business Management from Seattle University, which later awarded him an honorary doctorate. He has also received honorary doctorates from the London School of Economics and Political Science and Sun Moon University in South Korea.
Known for his decisive and efficiency-driven leadership style, Alabbar has famously adopted a no-meeting policy across his companies, eliminating both physical and virtual meetings. He has publicly challenged the effectiveness of traditional meetings, arguing that they often lack productivity and hinder decision-making.
Through Emaar, Eagle Hills, Zand, and his diverse investment portfolio, Mohamed Alabbar continues to shape the future of real estate, finance, and technology across the Middle East and beyond.
