Four Emiratis on Forbes billionaires list

Dubai Four Emirati businessmen have made it to the Forbes list of 1,226 billionaires.

Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair, CEO of Mashreq bank, is tops among the four, ranked 401 with his wealth estimated at $2.9 billion (Dh10.6 billion) while his relative Saif Al Ghurair and family — estimated to have $2 billion — is ranked 634th.

Abdullah Al Futtaim with an estimated $1.6 billion in the auto and investments industries is ranked 804th while his cousin Majid Al Futtaim, whose MAF Holding represents French hypermarket chain Carrefour, is estimated to have a fortune of $1.1 billion from real estate and retail portfolio, has found a place at 1,075.

"Mashreq bank's assets are still declining, but in a turnaround, Mashreq's net earnings were up almost 17 per cent in the first nine months of 2011. The Al Ghurair conglomerate operates in food, construction and retail sectors. In Libya, the conglomerate reportedly owns half of the country's largest oil refinery," Forbes said in the report.

Abdullah Al Futtaim owns the Al Futtaim Group that represents Ikea, Toys "R" Us and Marks & Spencer franchises; sells Toyota and Honda vehicles, and co-owns the Middle East's largest privately-funded urban community, Dubai Festival City.

The group plans to open residential and commercial complexes in Cairo, Egypt. In October 2011, the group began construction of another grand real estate project in Qatar called Doha Festival City.

The magazine released its annual tally of billionaires on Wednesday, reporting that a record 1,226 people around the globe have a net worth in the ten digits. That's up one per cent from last year's total.

But it wasn't an easy year for the super rich — about 441 list members lost wealth during the year, nearly equal to the 461 who expanded their fortunes. And only a fraction, 180, held steady, according to the magazine.