1. Al Rajhi family (KSA) – 11.0 billion USD
The wealth of this family can be attributed to both their majority shareholdings in the largest Saudi Islamic bank, Al Rajhi Bank, as well as their holding company, Mohammed Abdulaziz Al Rajhi & Sons. The principal family members are: Sulaiman (4.3 billion USD, chairman of Al Rajhi Bank and largest shareholder thereof), Saleh (2.9 billion USD, president of Al Rajhi Saudi Group), Abdullah (2.7 billion USD, owner of Al Rajhi Factories) and Mohammad (1.1 billion USD, who heads one of the largest steel manufacturing companies in KSA).
Al Kharafi family (Kuwait) - 9.6 billion USD
Kharafi Group is a major powerhouse in engineering, construction, maintenance, and telecommunications among others. It also owns Americana, the largest food company in the Middle East, as well as franchises for a variety of American food chains such as KFC, TGI Friday’s and Pizza Hut. The family figurehead is Nasser Al Kharafi who is also chairman of the group. His elder brother Jassem is speaker of Kuwait’s National Assembly; their sister Faiza was the first woman to become president of Kuwait University.
Al Futtaim family (UAE) - 8.6 billion USD
The Al Futtaim family actually split its empire into two parts in 2000, thereby dividing its wealth between two poles. Majid Al Futtaim is said to be worth 4.3 billion USD, he heads Majid Al Futtaim Group, which he founded in 1992, comprising of five businesses: MAF Properties, MAF Trust, MAF Retail, MAF Ventures and MAF Projects. His brother Abdullah (also worth 4.3 billion USD) is now plunging into real estate on a massive scale after building his fortune in the automobile business.
Al Ghurair family (UAE) - 7.8 billion USD
The Al Ghurair Group, which has been around since the early 1900s, is one of the UAE’s major players. The Al Ghurair family still controls the majority of the business, which over the last 100 years has expanded across the region with representation in around 20 countries. Their portfolio of companies includes a diverse range of interests such as finance, insurance, food services, power generation, shipping and insurance. The most valuable holding is a majority stake in Mashreq Bank, the ceo being Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair.
Binladin family (KSA) - 7.3 billion USD
The Binladin family is the sole shareholder of one of the region’s largest contracting companies, Saudi Binladin Group (SBG), a multinational construction conglomerate and holding company headquartered in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. SBG was founded in 1950 by Mohammed Binladin, whose relationship with the country's founder, H.R.H. Abdul Aziz al Saud, led to some of the Kingdom’s most important government contracts such as refurbishing the shrines at Mecca and Medina. Having married 22 times, Mohammed left the company to his 54 sons and daughters.
6. Olayan family (KSA) - 7.2 billion USD
Olayan Group is a Saudi conglomerate established in 1947 by Sulaiman S. Olayan. It traces its origins back to the General Contracting Company, founded to work on the construction of the Trans-Arabian Pipeline alongside Bechtel. In the 1950s, Olayan created trading and insurance companies, and began investing in the New York and London financial markets. Since then, the group has diversified its activities with the establishment of affiliates and partnerships in countless industries. The group’s beneficiaries are Suleiman’s widow Mary and four children, Khaled, Hayat, Hussam and Lubna.
7. Hariri family (Lebanon) – 6.6 billion USD
Rafic Hariri was a self-made man who amassed a fortune building hotels, palaces and conference centres for the royal family in Saudi Arabia. After his assassination on February 14th, 2005, his fortune was divided between his wife and six children. The family retains control of Saudi Oger with Saadeddine heading it up and Ayman taking a position on the board in addition to acting as general manager. The eldest Bahaeddine (2.1 billion USD) split from the rest of the family to pursue his own real estate and banking interests.
Kannoo family (Bahrain) - 6.1 billion USD
Founded in Bahrain by Haji Yusuf Bin Ahmed Kanoo during the late 1800s, this family thrived as traders during the period that the country was under a British protectorate. The Kanoo Group later expanded into shipping, sending different branches of the family to establish themselves – and eventually becoming citizens - in the UAE, Oman and Saudi Arabia. Today, the local family wing manages the Kanoo Group activities in each of the countries, though they all remain under the ultimate control of the Bahraini based chairman Yusuf Bin Ahmed Kanoo.
Jameel family (KSA) - 5.8 billion USD
The Abdul Latif Jameel Group was founded in 1945; ten years later it earned the exclusive distributing rights to sell and service Toyota vehicles and their spare parts within KSA. As the market leader in this sector, ALJ is also the largest independent Toyota and Lexus distributor in the world. Starting with automotive products, ALJ has diversified into other sectors like financing, electronics and home appliances, advertising and media as well as hotels, all the while keeping Toyota Motor Company as its core business. Mohammed Abdul Latif Jameel currently heads ALJ.
10. Alshaya family (Kuwait) - 5.1 billion USD
Established in 1890, the Alshaya Group has far reaching interests but their core sector is retail. In fact the subsidiary, MH Alshaya Company, is the Middle East’s leading international franchise operator with over 50 of the world’s most recognised brands, including Starbucks, H&M and The Body Shop. Headed by Mohammed Alshaya, the group has branched into a variety of new activities such as construction, retailing, advertising and I.T. With operations in over 16 markets across the MENA and Europe, the group employs over 15,000 people.
11. Gargash family (UAE) - 5.0 billion USD
The Gargash family moved to the UAE from Iran in the late 1800s, however, it was in 1918 that the late Ali Haji Abdulla Awazi Gargash laid the foundation for what would later emerge as one of the region’s leading trading house. Over time, the family expanded into a number of new fields, including the motor industry, electronics, real estate, insurance and industrial development and construction. Shehab Gargash, ceo of Daman Investments, is perhaps the most visible member of the family, with personal assets of around 1.4 billion USD.
12. Mikati family (Lebanon) – 4.0 billion USD
This family business is not even a generation old. In 1982, Najib and Taha Mikati, two brothers originating from Tripoli in Lebanon, cofounded a telecommunications company called Investcom. It eventually grew to become a telecommunications giant with significant investments in eight countries across Africa, the Middle East and Europe. In June 2006 the brothers sold the company to South Africa's MTN Group for 5.5 billion USD, although Najib remains its vice chairman. They currently have sizeable investments in real estate, finance, air transport and fashion.
13. Algosaibi family (KSA) - 3.6 billion USD
During the late 1940s, Hamad Abdulaziz Algosaibi founded Ahmad Hamad Algosaibi & Bros as a trading company with money exchange interests. His three sons, Ahmad, Abdulaziz and Sulaiman expanded its operations to include real estate, banking, and manufacturing, organising it into a holding company whose main subsidiaries are the National Bottling Company, the Algosaibi Hotel, the AH Algosaibi & Bros Money Exchange, and The International Banking Corporation. The group is perhaps most famous for holding the rights for the distribution and bottling of PepsiCo drinks throughout the region.
14. Alghanim family (Kuwait) – 3.5 billion USD
The Alghanim family was one of the first families to move to what is now called Kuwait. After initially working in trade and shipping, the family expanded into operating within the oil industry. Over time they developed companies that handled contracting and labour management too. Lucrative associations with internationals such as General Motors and many electronics companies enabled the family business to grow even further. The family also owns Alghanim Industries, a multi-billion dollar conglomerate with more than 30 businesses operating in over 40 countries.
15. Al Zamil family (KSA) - 3.4 billion USD
The Zamil Group Holding Company was founded in the late 1930s by Abdullah Al-Hamad Al Zamil who established a modest trading entity selling food items and textiles within the Kingdom of Bahrain. Later, he expanded his business into Saudi Arabia’s real estate market before his 12 sons took over. The group is now involved a wide array of activities such as air-conditioning manufacturing, food processing, plastics, steel fabrication, stained glass production, travel services, banking and industrial investments. It currently has over 10,000 employees in over 55 countries.
16. Sawiris family (Egypt) - 3.2 billion USD
Onsi Sawiris was the founder of Orascom back in 1950. In 1961 the company was nationalised, forcing him and his family to flee to Libya. There he built and lost a fortune before returning to Egypt in 1977 to start afresh. Nowadays the late founder’s sons run the three pillars of the company. There is Orascom Telecom run by Naguib, Orascom Construction Industries run by Nassef, and Orascom Hotels & Development run by Samih. The Orascom group is the largest private sector employer in Egypt.
17. Al Rostamani family (UAE) - 2.2 billion USD
Hassan Al Rostamani was an unprivileged merchant in the Gulf and India. He had two sons, Abdallah and Abdel Wahed. The latter set up Al Ahliya Library, Dubai's first bookshop, in 1954. A few years later Abdallah started a general trading company that would eventually become Al Rostamani Group. A milestone in the development of the brothers' business came in 1969 when they secured the franchise for Nissan cars. Abdul Wahed is the group's managing director, presiding over 17 subsidiaries and around 3,000 employees within the GCC and beyond.
18. Shoman family (Jordan) - 1.9 billion USD
Shoman Shoman was an unschooled Palestinian who moved to the US at a young age. After forming a successful dressmaking business, he returned to the region to create the Arab Bank in 1930. His son, Abdel Majeed, joined him upon graduating from NYU in 1931. Together they created an incredibly successful bank that honoured all commitments to its customers despite widespread political turmoil. The bank acted as a catalyst for Arab economic development during a period when no one else was willing to take the risk. Today the bank remains the region’s largest with over 500 branches in 30 countries.
19. Boodai family (Kuwait) - 1.7 billion USD
Set up in the 1950s, the Boodai Corporation is a Kuwait-based group of diverse companies engaged in construction, heavy equipment, building materials, engineering, construction equipment, transport, shipping and energy. The family maintains control over the entire business, which has recently been divided into eight key sectors. One of these key sectors is the international real estate market although with the launch of Jazeera Airways in 2004, the family created the region’s first low cost airline, and this undoubtedly added to their overall wealth.
20. Al Tayer family (UAE) - 1.7 billion USD
Founded in 1979, the Al Tayer Group operates in a range of fields through its 20 or so subsidiary companies. Several retailing deals with fashion outlets have helped nearly double the family’s wealth though they remain heavily involved in many other fields such as the automotive industry, perfumes and cosmetics, furniture, logistics, publishing, wholesale and distribution, services and engineering. The business is lead by the five sons of Humaid Al Tayer – Saeed, Ahmad, Obaid, Matar and Tarek - many of whom are involved in government and politics in the U.A.E.
