The world's richest Arabs 2013
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1. Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Al Saud $31.2bn ($25.9bn in 2012) Saudi Arabia
Whatever he touches generally turns to gold, and 2013 was no exception. In 2011, Alwaleed and Kingdom Holding Company (KHC) spent $300m on a stake in Twitter they said was worth more than 3 percent. When Twitter went public last month, the value of the prince's stake soared by 200 percent to $900m, after a 70 percent rise in the share price. Things have also been pretty impressive at Kingdom Holding in which the prince has a 95 percent share stake: the one year return on the stock had crossed a remarkable 35 percent by last Sunday. All this means that the prince is once again – for the 10th year running – the world’s richest Arab, with a personal fortune of $31.2bn. This figure has been verified by his private office. But the real strength of the overall KHC portfolio lies in sector diversity. It has major interests in investment categories ranging from luxury hotels and real estate to media and publishing, entertainment, finance and investment services, social media and technology, consumer and retail, petrochemicals, education, private equities, health care, aviation – even agriculture. KHC is among the world’s largest and most diverse investors, with regional and international holdings in many key industries. It is recognised as one of the largest foreign investors in the United States. The question in the past few years has been whether anyone else on the rich list could ever topple the prince from pole position. Based on the latest figures, the answer is a resounding no.
Prince Alwaleed tops Rich List with $31.2bn
By Staff Writer
- Sunday, 15 December 2013 9:18 AM
Saudi Arabia’s Prince Alwaleed has topped the Arabian Business Rich List for the 10 successive year, with a personal fortune of $31.2bn
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Click here to view the world’s richest Arabs
The Kingdom Holding Company chairman saw his wealth rise by over 20 percent in the past twelve months, from $25.9bn. The figure – verified by his private office, reflects a series of strong performances and investments in the last year, most notably his $300m stake in Twitter, which rose in value by 200 percent when the company floated this year.
Alwaleed’s personal wealth for 2013 is more than twice that of second placed hotels magnate Mohamed Al Jaber. Financial statements seen by Arabian Business - and also verified by Al Jaber’s private office – put his total wealth at $12.662bn – nearly double last year’s figure of $7bn.
The Olayan family ($12.5bn), Mohammed Al Amoudi ($12bn) and Issam Al Zahid ($11.6bn – a figure also verified by his private office) – top the remaining slots in the top five.
The 2013 list showed the top 50 richest Arabs in the world now have a combined wealth of $266.11bn, up from $257.21bn last year.
But only 11 of the names on last year’s list saw their figures rise.
Saudi Arabia accounted for nearly half the entries on this year’s list, with 23, followed by the UK and Kuwait, with four each. Seven of this year’s entries are based in Europe, with the UAE accounting for just three.
Arabian Business Editor Ed Attwood said: “The last 12 months have seen some solid performances by Arab business leaders across the globe, but what is significant is only 11 of the top 50 saw their wealth increase. The overall wealth has increased largely because of phenomenal performances by the top two in our list, Prince Alwaleed and Mohamed Al Jaber."
The list does not include any members of royal families, unless their wealth is specifically derived from business interests.
Whatever he touches generally turns to gold, and 2013 was no exception. In 2011, Alwaleed and Kingdom Holding Company (KHC) spent $300m on a stake in Twitter they said was worth more than 3 percent. When Twitter went public last month, the value of the prince's stake soared by 200 percent to $900m, after a 70 percent rise in the share price. Things have also been pretty impressive at Kingdom Holding in which the prince has a 95 percent share stake: the one year return on the stock had crossed a remarkable 35 percent by last Sunday. All this means that the prince is once again – for the 10th year running – the world’s richest Arab, with a personal fortune of $31.2bn. This figure has been verified by his private office. But the real strength of the overall KHC portfolio lies in sector diversity. It has major interests in investment categories ranging from luxury hotels and real estate to media and publishing, entertainment, finance and investment services, social media and technology, consumer and retail, petrochemicals, education, private equities, health care, aviation – even agriculture. KHC is among the world’s largest and most diverse investors, with regional and international holdings in many key industries. It is recognised as one of the largest foreign investors in the United States. The question in the past few years has been whether anyone else on the rich list could ever topple the prince from pole position. Based on the latest figures, the answer is a resounding no.
Saudi Arabia’s Prince Alwaleed has topped the Arabian Business Rich List for the 10 successive year, with a personal fortune of $31.2bn
.
Click here to view the world’s richest Arabs
The Kingdom Holding Company chairman saw his wealth rise by over 20 percent in the past twelve months, from $25.9bn. The figure – verified by his private office, reflects a series of strong performances and investments in the last year, most notably his $300m stake in Twitter, which rose in value by 200 percent when the company floated this year.
Alwaleed’s personal wealth for 2013 is more than twice that of second placed hotels magnate Mohamed Al Jaber. Financial statements seen by Arabian Business - and also verified by Al Jaber’s private office – put his total wealth at $12.662bn – nearly double last year’s figure of $7bn.
The Olayan family ($12.5bn), Mohammed Al Amoudi ($12bn) and Issam Al Zahid ($11.6bn – a figure also verified by his private office) – top the remaining slots in the top five.
The 2013 list showed the top 50 richest Arabs in the world now have a combined wealth of $266.11bn, up from $257.21bn last year.
But only 11 of the names on last year’s list saw their figures rise.
Saudi Arabia accounted for nearly half the entries on this year’s list, with 23, followed by the UK and Kuwait, with four each. Seven of this year’s entries are based in Europe, with the UAE accounting for just three.
Arabian Business Editor Ed Attwood said: “The last 12 months have seen some solid performances by Arab business leaders across the globe, but what is significant is only 11 of the top 50 saw their wealth increase. The overall wealth has increased largely because of phenomenal performances by the top two in our list, Prince Alwaleed and Mohamed Al Jaber."
The list does not include any members of royal families, unless their wealth is specifically derived from business interests.
.
Click here to view the world’s richest Arabs
The Kingdom Holding Company chairman saw his wealth rise by over 20 percent in the past twelve months, from $25.9bn. The figure – verified by his private office, reflects a series of strong performances and investments in the last year, most notably his $300m stake in Twitter, which rose in value by 200 percent when the company floated this year.
Alwaleed’s personal wealth for 2013 is more than twice that of second placed hotels magnate Mohamed Al Jaber. Financial statements seen by Arabian Business - and also verified by Al Jaber’s private office – put his total wealth at $12.662bn – nearly double last year’s figure of $7bn.
The 2013 list showed the top 50 richest Arabs in the world now have a combined wealth of $266.11bn, up from $257.21bn last year.
But only 11 of the names on last year’s list saw their figures rise.
Saudi Arabia accounted for nearly half the entries on this year’s list, with 23, followed by the UK and Kuwait, with four each. Seven of this year’s entries are based in Europe, with the UAE accounting for just three.
The list does not include any members of royal families, unless their wealth is specifically derived from business interests.
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