Nassef Sawiris retained his position as the richest Arab, with a net worth of $8.3 billion. He was followed by Issad Rebrab and family with $4.8 billion, Majid Al Futtaim and family with $3.6 billion, Naguib Sawiris with $3.2 billion, and Abdulla bin Ahmad Al Ghurair and family with $2.8 billion.
Forbes Middle East highlights the Arab billionaires who rejoined the ranking in 2021, as well as those who exited the list.
Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani
Net worth in 2021: $1.3 billion
Country: Qatar
Source of wealth: Investments
Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani served as Qatar’s prime minister from 2007 to 2013 and as foreign minister from 1992 to 2013. His great-uncle founded the modern State of Qatar in 1971, and he is a cousin of the country’s current Emir.
Through Paramount Services Holdings, Al Thani owns a 3 percent stake in Deutsche Bank, which represents his largest publicly traded investment. He previously appeared on the Forbes World’s Billionaires list in 2018.
In 2016, his name appeared in the Panama Papers, a leak of documents from the Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca that detailed offshore entities established for clients worldwide.
Othman Benjelloun and family
Net worth in 2021: $1.3 billion
Country: Morocco
Source of wealth: Banking and insurance
Othman Benjelloun is the chief executive officer of BMCE Bank of Africa, which operates in more than 20 African countries. His father was a shareholder in Moroccan insurance firm RMA, which Benjelloun later transformed into one of the country’s leading insurers.
Through his holding company FinanceCom, Benjelloun holds a stake in the Moroccan unit of French telecommunications firm Orange. In 2014, he launched a $500 million project to construct the 55-storey Mohammed VI Tower in Rabat, set to become one of Africa’s tallest buildings.
FinanceCom is also part of a broader initiative to develop a multibillion-dollar technology city in Tangiers, expected to host around 200 Chinese companies. Benjelloun did not appear on the billionaires’ list in 2020 but returned in 2021.
Kutayba Alghanim (Dropped off in 2021)
Image from kutaybaalghanim.com
Net worth last year: $1.3B
Country: Kuwait
Source: Diversified
Kutayba Alghanim is the chairman of Alghanim Industries, which his late father Yusuf founded in 1932. His son Omar, who has a Harvard MBA, is CEO. Alghanim sells GM and Ford cars in Kuwait, owns a consumer electronics retailer and Wendys restaurants in the Middle East, among other businesses. Kutayba and his brother Bassam have fought over the division of assets they inherited and have turned to a Swiss arbitration court to settle.
