Dubai: The Forbes Billionaire List for 2015 has included prominent names in the Middle East, including businessmen from the UAE.
Lamudi, an international property portal that focuses on the emerging markets, browsed through the list and ranked the top three billionaires who are into the real estate business.
According to the firm, the top three richest tycoons in the Middle East are from Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Lebanon.
Saudi Arabia’s Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud is named the region’s richest real estate tycoon, whose huge property portfolio is estimated to be worth at least $1 billion.
The real estate network has done some research into the property portfolios of the region’s top three billionaires who have made all or part of their fortune in real estate.
1. Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud, Saudi Arabia
Net worth: $22.7 billion
A member of the Saudi Royal family and chief executive officer of Kingdom Holding Company, Prince Alwaleed has invested in hotels and real estate. His portfolio includes a number of hotel brands, such as Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Movenpick Hotels and Resorts and Fairmont Raffles Holding. “He has invested in some of the world’s most iconic ultra-luxury hotels, owning the five-star Four Seasons Hotel George V in Paris and part of London’s famous Savoy Hotel,” said Lamudi.
2. Majid Al Futtaim, UAE
Net worth: $6.2 billion
Running one of the largest commercial property developers in the region and ranked as the second richest person in the UAE, Majid Al Futtaim is the second richest real estate tycoon in the Middle East, according to Lamudi.
His Majid Al Futtaim Group has presence in a dozen of countries in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena). His property portfolio includes 17 shopping malls and 11 hotels across the Mena region, while his retail developments attract 175 million shoppers every year.
3. Bahaa Hariri, Lebanon
Net worth: $2.3 billion
Taking the third place is the son of assassinated former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Bahaa Hariri has a number of property developments in Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon. “As the founder of the Horizon Group, Hariri is working with the Jordanian government on commercial and residential development in central Amman,” said Lamudi.
One of the projects associated with Hariri is the $423 million development called The Boulevard in Amman’s downtown district Abdali that was unveiled in 2014. His other projects that are still under development are the upscale mixed-used Verdun Gardens set and Place Verdun mall, both in Beirut.
