Forbes Middle East recently inducted five new billionaires, a news that is surprising given the reduced net worth of Arab billionaires by 23.8 percent. The new members in the list include the likes of Hussain Sajwani from the UAE, Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani of Qatar, and Oman’s Suhail Bahwan.
The demographic breakdown of the list is:
Saudi Arabia – 6 billionaires worth USD 34.6 billion
UAE – 6 billionaires worth USD 19.7 billion
Egypt – 6 billionaires, worth USD 14.2 billion
Lebanon – 7 billionaires worth USD 12.5 billion
Oman – 3 billionaires worth USD 6.2 billion
Morocco – 2 billionaires with a new worth of USD 3.2 billion
Algeria – 1 billionaire worth USD 3.1 billion
Qatar – 1 billionaire worth USD 2 billion
Even though a billionaire from the media, advertising and marketing industry is yet to come from the Arab side of the world, Arabian Marketer highlights members of the ‘billionaire-group’ who contributed to the growth of communication through the roles they played in the telecom field development.
#1. Naguib Sawiris: Naguib Onsi Sawiris is an Egyptian billionaire businessman, who ranks 7th in the Forbes list with a net worth of 3 billion. He was also included in the top ten billionaires of Africa in 2015. Mr Sawiris is Chairman of Weather Investments’s parent company and Chairman of Orascom Telecom Media and Technology Holding S.A.E. He has made his fortune through this telecom organization. He was most recently in the news because of his attempt to buy an island of Greece or Italy to accommodate the Syrian refugees.
#2. Najib Mikati: Najib Mikati was the co-founder of the telecommunications company, Investcom along with his brother Taha, a business that they started in 1982. He sold the company in 2006 to South Africa’s MTN Group for USD 5.5 billion. In April 2015, Forbes estimated his net worth at USD 3.3 billion, making him the richest man in Lebanon. This year Forbes estimated a drop in his net worth to USD 2.5 billion, still making him the 12th richest billionaire in Middle East. Mr Mikati also held Lebanon’s Prime-Minister’s position for a period of two years, after which he resigned.
#3. Taha Mikati: Another Lebanese on the list is Taha Mikati, a billionaire businessman, and the brother of fellow billionaire Najib Mikati. His major attributes include co-starting of the telecom company Investcom, as well as the sponsorship of the M1 Group and the Mikati Foundation. His networth is estimated to be in par with his brother at USD 2.5 billion making him also the 12th richest billionaire in Middle East. He along with his brother hold the position of richest men in Lebanon.
#4. Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud: Also known as the ‘Arabian Warren Buffet’, Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud tops the Forbes list by owning the Arab’s largest entertainment industry, Rotana. Besides this he is also the chairman and the controlling shareholder of Kingdom holding company. Together this accounts to a market value of USD 1 billion. He makes it to our list as he and his company originally invested USD 300 million in Twitter back in 2011 before it went public in 2013. In October 2015, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, doubled his investment in Twitter making him own over 5 percent share of the company.
