The World’s Richest Arabs

by Drima on January 30, 2008

Here they are. Look who’s number 3 and 7.

1. Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud (Saudi Arabia): US$ 29.5 Billion
2. The Al Rajhi Family (Saudi Arabia): US$ 24 Billion
3. The Hariri Family (Lebanon): US$ 17.8 Billion
4. Nasser Al Kharafi (Kuwait): US$ 12 Billion
5. Maan Al Sanea (Saudi Arabia): US$ 10 Billion
6. Mohammad Al Amoudi (Saudi Arabia): US$ 9.2 Billion
7. The Bin Laden Family (Saudi Arabia): US$ 8.5 Billion
8. Abdulaziz Al Ghurair (United Arab Emirates): US$ 8 Billion
9. The Olayan Family (Saudi Arabia): US$ 7.2 Billion
10. The Sawiris Family (Egypt): US$ 6.2 Billion

{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Andrew Brehm 01.30.08 at 10:52 am: I thought Bin Laden was poor and fighting the rich?

But leaving sarcasm aside, I do wonder why there are no Jews among the group. Are there no Jewish Arabs among the top-ten? There surely are Jews among the top ten richest Americans.

(Did any of them make their own money or is all government contracts based on oil that happened to lie under their feet?)
2 Arima 01.30.08 at 11:24 am: Not a surprising list at all….just surprised that the two you highlight aren’t further up ;-p
3 Andrew Brehm 01.30.08 at 11:36 am: Richest Israelis:

http://www.forbes.com/2007/01/09/israel-richest-billionaires-ent_cz_bbn_0109israelintro.html

Interesting (?) factoids:

1. The richest Israeli is a woman.

2. The richest Arab (30 Billion) is richer than the richest Israeli (4 Billion).

3. Bin Laden is richer than the richest Israeli.

4. Despite the fact that so many claim that Bin Laden fights the rich for the poor.

5. And despite the fact that so many claim that the Jews have all the money and oppress the poor Arab world.

But there are two different types of wealth. One is based on bringing new wealth into the world, like inventing a new gadget or creating products. The other is based on claiming what others could claim too if they had the power.

I put it to this forum that most rich Israelis made their money by creating wealth, by contributing to the world what did not exist before or by contributing capital to such enterprises.

And I put it to this forum that a number of the richest Arabs made their money from sitting on oil and related benefits, while contributing nothing to the world’s total wealth themselves.
4 Lynn 01.30.08 at 12:58 pm: I’m surprised that their brothers in Gaza and other Palestinians had to suffer so much considering what that wealth could have done to ease their suffering. Could have built power plants,factories, housing and maybe even a new greenhouse? And think of how nice those refugee camps could be. Shoot, they could even build an island or two (AK47 shaped perhaps?) for even more land to live on.

The Bin Laden family is not the same as Osama. Yes, it is his family but he has been disowned by them.
5 Andrew Brehm 01.30.08 at 1:18 pm: “Could have built power plants,factories, housing and maybe even a new greenhouse?”

They would have destroyed them. They had greenhouses. They destroyed them.
6 Dalu 01.30.08 at 2:48 pm: One of theses families needs to adopt me, ASAP.
7 Lynn 01.30.08 at 10:29 pm: “They had greenhouses. They destroyed them.”

Yes, Andrew,I know they did. But, after all, they were Jewish greenhouses. The food the Palestinians might have grown there would have probably been like poison to them.
8 talat sitat 02.01.08 at 11:49 am: all of them will stand knee deep in the blood of their children.. french revolution style