Saudi doctor and entrepreneur becomes third-richest private individual in the region

Dubai: Billionaire entrepreneur Dr Sulaiman Bin Abdulaziz Al Habib saw his fortune hit $12 billion (Dh44 billion) after share prices of his listed eponymous healthcare empire saw a 30 per cent growth since October last year.

Al Habib founded his medical group in 1993, and started with a single clinic then. The group now has 22 medical facilities and 22 pharmacies across Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain.

The firm has 10 hospitals and medical centers under development. The chain is valued at $28 billion, in which Al Habib holds a 40 per cent stake. A Bloomberg report said the company’s value has surged by 500 per cent since its 2020 IPO.

Al Habib, who is a trained paediatrician, is now the third-richest private individual in the region, and the fifth richest doctor in the world on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Tadawul and its growth

The index on which the firm is listed is Tadawul, Saudi Arabia's benchmark index, which has shown largely bullish tendencies over the past month and week. On Friday, the index closed with a decline of 0.1 per cent with media giant MBC Group declining by 9.9 per cent.

However, Reuters reported that the MBC Group has risen more than 130 per cent against its initial public offering price of 25 riyals per share.

The media group debuted on the market on January 8.

Al Habib reportedly invests in commercial real estate through a holding company as well.

Al Habib got a degree in medicine and surgery from Riyadh's King Saud University in 1977 and completed a fellowship in pediatrics at the British Royal College of Physicians in 1984. He has served as chief medical officer and head of pediatrics at two government-owned hospitals in Riyadh.