Billionaires
World’s Richest Arabs 2022 LEADERBOARD
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The last year has been tough for the world’s wealthiest people, with the number of global billionaires falling to 2,668 in 2022, down from 2,755 in 2021. A total of 329 people dropped off the list this year, with 236 newcomers. The total net worth of the world’s billionaires in 2022 is $12.7 trillion, down from $13.1 trillion in 2021. There are 21 Arab billionaires this year—one less than 2021 following the death of Majid Al Futtaim in December.
4. Najib Mikati 66 Net Worth: $3.2 B • $700M Global Rank: #951 Country: Lebanon Sector: Telecom
Najib Mikati is the cofounder, with his billionaire brother Taha, of Beirut-based investment firm M1 Group. Its investments include stakes in South African telecom firm MTN, fashion retailer Pepe Jeans, and real estate in New York, London and Monaco. Mikati and his brother Taha founded Investcom in 1982, selling satellite phones at the height of Lebanon’s civil war. They expanded into Africa where they built cellphone towers in Ghana, Liberia and Benin, among other countries. In 2005, Investcom went public on the London Stock Exchange, and in 2009, South Africa’s MTN bought the Mikatis’ stake for $3.6 billion.
4. Taha Mikati 77 Net Worth: $3.2 B • $700M 1. Nassef Sawiris 61 Net Worth: $7.7 B • $600 M
Global Rank: #304 Country: Egypt Sector: Construction, investments Nassef Sawiris is an investor and a scion of Egypt’s wealthiest family. His most valuable asset is a nearly 6% stake in sportswear maker Adidas. In December 2020, he acquired a 5% stake in New York-listed firm Madison Square Garden Sports, owner of the NBA Knicks and the NHL Rangers teams. He runs OCI, one of the world’s largest nitrogen fertilizer producers, with plants in Texas and Iowa; it trades on the Euronext Amsterdam exchange. Orascom Construction, an engineering and building firm, trades on the Cairo exchange and Nasdaq Dubai. His holdings include stakes in cement giant Lafarge Holcim and Adidas; he sits on the supervisory board of Adidas.
2. Issad Rebrab & family Net Worth: $5.1 B • $300M Global Rank: # 536 Country: Algeria Sector: Food & Beverage
Issad Rebrab is the founder and CEO F O R B E S M I D D L E E A S T.C O M
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of Cevital, Algeria’s biggest privatelyheld company. Cevital owns one of the largest sugar refineries in the world, with the capacity to produce 2 million tons a year. Cevital owns European companies, including French home appliances maker Groupe Brandt, an Italian steel mill, and a German water purification company. After serving 8 months in jail on charges of corruption, Rebrab was released on January 1, 2020. He denies any wrongdoing.
3. Naguib Sawiris 67 Net Worth: $3.4 B • $200M Global Rank: #883 Country: Egypt Sector: Telecom
Naguib Sawiris is a scion of Egypt’s wealthiest family. His brother Nassef is also a billionaire. He built a fortune in telecom, selling Orascom Telecom in 2011 to Russian telecom firm VimpelCom (now Veon) in a multibillion-dollar transaction. He’s chairman of Orascom TMT Investments, which has stakes in an asset manager in Egypt and Italian internet company Italiaonline, among others. He also developed a luxury resort called Silversands on the Caribbean Island of Grenada.
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Global Rank: #951 Country: Lebanon Sector: Telecom
Taha Mikati is the cofounder, with his billionaire brother Najib, of Beirutbased holding company M1 Group. Its investments include stakes in South African telecom firm MTN, fashion retailer Pepe Jeans, and prime real estate in New York, London and Monaco. Mikati and his brother Najib founded Investcom in 1982, selling satellite phones at the height of Lebanon’s civil war. They expanded into Africa where they built cellphone towers in Ghana, Liberia and Benin, among other countries. In 2005, Investcom went public on the London Stock Exchange, and in 2009, South Africa’s MTN bought the Mikatis’ stake for $3.6 billion.
6. Hussain Sajwani 69 Net Worth: $2.7 B • $300M
Global Rank: #1163 Country: United Arab Emirates Sector: Real Estate Hussain Sajwani is the chairman of Dubai-based luxury real estate developer Damac Properties, which he founded in 2002. He started out in the food services
MAY 2022
