Richest Arabs see dent in wealth; Saudis top Forbes list

Arab billionaires saw their aggregate fortunes dip $29.9 billion year-on-year to reach $95.5 billion as the global economy continues to suffer from sustained low oil prices, the latest Forbes list of World’s Richest Arabs showed.

“The past year was unkind to billionaires all over the world, including the Middle East, where Arab billionaires saw their net worth drop by 23.8 percent from a year ago,” the magazine said in a statement.

In the list of 32 billionaires, five new names were added: Hussain Sajwani and Abdul Wahid Al Rostamani from the UAE, Sheikh Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani from Qatar, as well as Suhail Bahwan and his nephew Mohammed Bahwan from Oman.

“Prince Alwaleed of Saudi Arabia saw his net worth fall by more than 20 percent, but he remains the wealthiest Arab,” the statement said.

Saudi billionaires were the richest in the list with a combined net worth of $34.6 billion. The United Arab Emirates logged in second, with its richest individuals holding a combined net worth of $19.7 billion.

At seven, Lebanon emerged with most billionaires, making it also one the countries with the highest number of billionaires per capita in the world.

In addition to individual billionaires, Forbes also launched a list of 15 billionaire families.

Saudi Arabia topped the list of richest families as well, with 12 of the 15 families coming from the kingdom.

The 69-year-old Olayan Group from Saudi Arabia ranked No.1 on families list, with a net worth of $8 billion. The group has partnerships with Kimberly Clark, Coca-Cola, and General Foods, among other companies, and is a major investor in stock markets.

“The families on our list may not be household names (and many prefer to keep it that way), but if you drive a Toyota in Saudi Arabia, it came from the Jameel family, one of the biggest Toyota dealers in the world. The cup of Starbucks coffee you sip in Istanbul or Amman is courtesy of the Alshaya family. In fact, nine out of the 15 families have made a fortune owning licensing rights to foreign brands, mostly American,” the magazine said.

Forbes estimated the net worth as of February 12, 2016, for individual billionaires and March 8, 2016, for the families. The cut-off for the list remains at $1 billion.