For the past four years The Times has researched, collated and published
the Power 100, a list of the most influential business leaders working in
quoted UK companies. As part of this week’s wide-ranging business coverage
from Dubai, the model has been adapted to map the network of rich, powerful
and influential business people working in the Gulf today.
Of necessity, given the diversity of talent and the scarcity of statistical
data, the GulfPower25 is more qualitative than quantitative. It is a Who’s
Who of those who lead or control business in the Middle East. It covers
countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council trading bloc - Saudi Arabia, Oman,
the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar. It makes no claims to
be the last word on rich, powerful, influential and entrepreneurial people
in the region. The names and faces driving the Gulf economy have changed and
will continue to change. This list will be posted on Times Online, where it
will be updated to take account of readers’ comments. The personalities, and
their rankings, will change in the light of convincing contributions.
1 Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum is the ruler of Dubai, whose
vision is fuelling the frenetic development of the city and spurring the
transformation of the Gulf. He is also Prime Minister of the United Arab
Emirates, of which Dubai in one emirate. Sheikh Mohammed owes his wealth to
oil, but conscious that the reserves on his patch of land are relatively
small, he has broadened the economic base into property, ports and airports,
leisure and financial services. Sheikh Mohammed heads our list because he is
powerful, influential and rich. However, it is his role as the catalyst for
change in the region that sets him apart. Sheikh Mohammed appears acutely
aware of the opportunities, and more willing than most to combat threats
that have prompted other Middle East leaders to impede, or halt, the process
of reform.
2 King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. Saudia Arabia, thanks its geographical
size, its relatively large population of 27 million, and its enormous
reserves of oil, will ultimately determine the future of the Gulf. Saudi
Arabia sits on about a quarter of the world’s oil reserves, is a crucial
trading partner and a significant, albeit cautious, force in
dispute-settlement in the Middle East.
Like Dubai, it is beginning to move beyond oil in its dealings with the global
economy. It is fostering a domestic stock market and establishing rules for
a more dynamic corporate environment. King Abdullah is, no doubt, the most
powerful man in the Middle East, but he is still to put his country’s wealth
and human capital to work.
3 Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan is the President of the United
Arab Emirates and the ruler of Abu Dhabi, but, perhaps more importantly, is
chairman of one of the world’s biggest investment funds – the Abu Dhabi
Investment Authority. ADIA has assets estimated to be in excess of £200
billion and which may be as much as £400 billion. It is highly secretive,
but, within the global fund management industry, is highly regarded. Abu
Dhabi sits on 95 per cent of the oil and gas reserves in the UAE and 9 per
cent of the world’s proven hydrocarbon reserves.
4 Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thaniis chairman and chief executive of the
Qatar Investment Authority. The approaches made by the QIA to Sainsbury’s,
the British supermarket group, and the London Stock Exchange, are just two
examples of Qatar’s determination to play a leading role in the economy of
the Gulf. Sheikh Tamim is son of Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, the head
of the Qatari ruling family. The QIA, via its Qatari Diar property arm, is
known in London for being the main backer of the £940 million purchase of
Chelsea Barracks and the backer of One Hyde Park – 82 luxury flats, of which
a penthouse sold for £100 million.
5 Prince Alwaleed bin Talal al-Saud is one of the world’s wealthiest
individuals, with assets estimated at $20 billion (£9.6 billion). His
interests span hospitality, property and direct equity investment. He made a
large part of his fortune investing in Citigroup, the US investment house.
He is a nephew of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. With Bill Gates, of
Microsoft, he bought the Four Seasons hotel chain for $3.4 billion last
year.
6 Lubna Olayan,the Saudi business-woman, is chief executive of
the Olayan Financing Company, which handles an estimated $20 billion worth
of investment for the Olayan Group, one of Saudi Arabia’s biggest
businesses. The Olayan Group is active in industry, tourism, finance,
property development, transportation and manufacturing and has fostered
close ties with US companies. It owns lucrative Middle East distribution
franchises for brands such as Colgate-Palmolive, Burger King, Nestlé and
Coca-Cola. Its international partners include BP Solar, Credit Suisse,
JPMorgan, Bechtel and Burger King. Lubna Olayan sits on the board of Saudi
Hollandi Bank and WPP, the advertising group. Moreover, she is a champion of
women’s rights and stands in the vanguard of a new generation of women
rising through the ranks of business in the Gulf.
7 Prince Saud bin Thunayan al-Saud is the chairman of Saudi Basic
Industries Corporation (Sabic), the largest public company in the Middle
East, which is 70 per cent owned by Saudi Arabia’s Government. The remaining
30 per cent is controlled by private Middle East investors. When Sabic
bought GE Plastics for about $11.6 billion in May it was the largest
acquisition by an Arab company of a foreign rival. Sabic was set up by royal
decree in 1976 as a way of using the byproducts of Saudi Arabia’s vast oil
reserves to produce commodities such as chemicals, polymers and fertilisers.
Today, it represents the promise of a different kind of Gulf conglomerate,
not privately-owned and introspective but publicly listed and global.
8 Maan Abdul Waheed al-Sanea became the second-biggest shareholder in
HSBC this year after amassing a 3.1 per cent stake in the bank worth £3.3
billion. Mr al-Sanea is the co-founder of the Saad Group, a conglomerate
that built its fortune on construction and engineering. The former air force
pilot is passionate about healthcare and education. He founded a private
hospital and support centre for special-needs children and their families in
Saudi Arabia and has vowed to invest more in healthcare across the Gulf in
the future.
9 Nasser al-Kharafi, chairman of the Kuwait-based Al-Kharafi Group,
has net worth estimated at $12 billion by Forbes, the US magazine.
His interests span construction, telecoms and fast food.
10 Ali Ibrahim al-Naimi is the chairman Saudi Aramco, the world’s
biggest oil company, which is state-owned and is thought to be worth an
estimated $800 billion. Mr al-Naimi joined Saudi Aramco in 1974 and worked
his way up through the organization to become president and chief executive.
In 1995 he became Saudi Arabia’s Oil Minister.
11 Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem chairs Dubai World, the state-owned company
that controls about 100 companies. Those businesses include Nakheel, the
property developer estimated to be worth $60 billion and best known for its
construction of the Jumeirah Palm, the palm tree shaped man-made island off
the coast of Dubai; DP World, the infrastructure business that bought P&O
for $6.9 billion; and Istithmar, a private equity-type investment fund with
investments ranging from Standard Chartered, the bank, to Barneys, the
department store. It also bought the QE2 in June for $100 million.
12 Sameer al-Ansari is chief executive of Dubai International Capital,
which showed the nature of its ambitions this week when it acquired a 9.9
per cent stake in Och-Ziff, the US hedge fund manager. Among past roles he
was chief financial officer in the executive office of Sheikh Mohammed bin
Rashid al Maktoum.
13 Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoon al-Nahyan is chairman of the Abu Dhabi
Tourism Authority. He was responsible for persuading the Louvre and
Guggenheim museums of Paris and New York to open branches in Abu Dhabi. He
has not only led Abu Dhabi’s efforts to regain international profile from
its noisier, flashier cousin down the road – Dubai – he has also signalled
the region’s commitment to culture as well as capitalism.
14 Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarakis the chief executive of the
Mubadala Development Company, an Abu Dhabi-backed investment company that
owns, among many other things, a 5 per cent stake in Ferrari, the motor
racing brand, helping to bring Abu Dhabi its first Grand Prix. At the same
time, Mubadala is investing heavily in treatments for diabetes, an illness
that affects a large proportion of emiratis.
15 Mohammad al-Gergawi, the executive chairman of Dubai Holding and the
UAE’s Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs, is widely seen as Sheikh
Mohammed’s right-hand man. Dubai Holding is one of the main investment
companies in Dubai and is responsible for land development and
infrastructure.
16 Anees Issa built his reputation as a media mogul in Oman before
going into tourism. As the chairman of The Blue City, a $15 billion coastal
project, he has promised to transform his country into the Switzerland of
the Middle East. When finished, The Blue City will have hospitals, schools
and a university. The 34 sq km seafront city, only 45 minutes from Muscat,
will also include two championship golf courses and four luxury hotels and
will point to the thing that makes the country distinctive among Gulf
states: diverse regions of outstanding natural beauty.
17 Majid al-Futtaim is the president of MAF Group, one of the most
adventurous retail groups in the region. He has developed some of the Gulf’s
largest shopping centres, including the Mall of the Emirates in Dubai. MAF
also brought the French hypermarket Carrefour to the Middle East.
18 Khalid Kanoo is the Bahrain-based group managing director of the
Kanoo Group, with construction, oil, gas, engineering, shipping and
financial services interests throughout the Gulf and the Saudi peninsula.
19 Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al-Maktoum is chairman and chief executive of
Emirates Airline and president of the Department of Dubai Civil Aviation, a
governing body that oversees the activities of Dubai International airport,
among other things. Sheikh Ahmed is the uncle of the current ruler of Dubai,
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum. Emirates is already one of the ten
largest airlines and some think that it may grow to become the world’s
largest within ten years.
20 Sheikha Lubna al-Qasimi is the United Arab Emirate’s Minister
for Economy and Planning. She has taken leading roles in the UAE’s ambition
to diversify revenues away from oil and in developing more robust trade
links with countries outside the region, including the US.
21 Mohamed bin Ali Alabbar is founder and chairman of Emaar, Dubai’s
largest property company. It was formed in 1997 and is listed on the Dubai
stock exchange but still majority-owned by the state. Via Emaar, Dubai has
staked its claim for having the world’s largest building, the Burj Dubai, a
$20 billion project. At 156 floors and climbing, the Burj is already nearly
600 metres (1,969 ft) high and is expected to reach 164 floors – although
the final height is being kept a closely guarded secret. Mr Alabbar’s
personal connections with Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah helped Emaar this
year to win a contract to build a new Saudi city near Jeddah at a cost of
$26.6 billion.
22 Ismail Mataris the UAE’s answer to David Beckham and a
potentially lucrative pin-up for advertisers. The 24-year-old football star
has won the hearts of a soccer-mad nation. He is best known for leading the
UAE to their first trophy, the 2007 Gulf Cup, which was held in Abu Dhabi.
Matar scored five goals in five games, picking up both the best player’s and
top scorer’s trophies and he is being tipped for a move to a European club
side. He is also the embodiment of a new, powerful phenomenon in the Gulf:
home-grown celebrity.
23 Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser al-Missnedchairs the Qatar Foundation for
Education, Science and Community Development, a private nonprofit
organisation founded in 1995 and pursuing teaching and social reforms. In
2003, Unesco appointed her a special envoy for basic and higher education
and she established the International Fund for Higher Education in Iraq.
24 Esam Janahi, chairman of Gulf Finance House, one of the region’s
fastest-growing Islamic banks, principal investor in the $1.5 billion
Bahrain Financial Harbour business development and the force behind “energy
cities” built or planned for Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Beijing.
25 Abdul Latif al-Sayegh, the chief executive of Arab Media
Group, which owns three newspapers, nine radio stations and two television
stations. He is at the forefront of media freedoms with a special interest
in promoting the development of a more questioning journalism.
Seven outsiders
1 Dave Lesar is president and chief executive of Halliburton, the US
oilfield services contractor. His company, formerly led by Dick Cheney, the
US Vice-President, transformed opinion in corporate America when it
relocated its headquarters to Dubai, the most serious recognition yet of the
Gulf’s purchasing power
2 Hayan Merchant, chief executive of Dubai 9 Group, a media and
industrial conglomerate, struck a $2.5 billion deal with Paramount to build
a theme park in Dubai
3 Sol Kerzner, founder of Sun International, the South African hotel
and gambling group, is putting the finishing touches to Atlantis, a hotel
that is part of the Palm Jumeirah island complex. Kerzner’s presence in
Dubai has raised intriguing questions about whether gambling eventually will
come to Dubai
4 Michael Tomalin is the chief executive of the National Bank of Abu
Dhabi, one of the biggest banks in UAE
5 Gerald Lawless, an Irishman who joined Jumeirah Group, one of Dubai’s
top luxury hotel operators, as a managing director in 1997 and is now
executive chairman. Formerly of Forte, he opened the group’s first hotel in
Dubai in 1991 and grew the chain to more than 20 before leaving to join
Jumeirah
6 Jean Paul Villain, a Frenchman, is a senior investment adviser to the
Abu Dhabi Investment Authority
7 Mohammed Al Amoudi,born in Ethiopia and now a Saudi citizen. He built
his estimated $6.9 billion fortune building oil and gas refineries. His
Svenska Petroleum conducts oil exploration from the Nordic shelf to the
Ivory Coast
Additional reporting by Sonia Verma, James Rossiter, Siobhan Kennedy and
James Harding
a lot of hype no substance
saud, riyadh,
An Excellent Face Book and An Encyclopedia of the Middle East Economy Highlighting the Celebrity Contributors of Tomorrow's World of Middle East...Today
KATHIJA.M, Erode-India, India
I would like to endorse the opinions of previous comments regarding Sultan Qaboos bin Said. Without the resources enjoyed by the U.A.E., Qatar and Saudia Arabia he has brought Oman into the 21st centrury without losing the essential culture and heritage of Oman.
J.D.O. Dublin.
J. D. Ormsby, Dublin, Ireland
In the list there are many muslims. Hopefully their views are moderate, otherwise....Poor women....! In the future, our daughters will have no saying against prejudism, violence, and fundamentalism........
Dan, Frankfurt, Germany
Curious; not a single Iranian on the list!!
Is Iran not one of the most powerful/influential countries in the Persian Gulf region?
Paul, London,
Thank you for the list, but you have not looked beyond the GCC, when this is a Middle Eastern list. You seem to be dazzled by the glitz of the UAE, when this region is about so much more. You should have included the Sawiris family in Egypt. Naguib Sawiris has built one of the world's biggest mobile telecom operators, Orascom Telecom. Nassef Sawiris has built Orascom Construction Industries one of the worl's biggest building material and construction companies, while Sameh Sawiris has built Orascom Hotels & Developments, an international developer of towns. Munib Masri of Jordan and Palestine is also worth a mention.
George Stevens, Cairo, Egypt
I agree with the first post, Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan at least I will put him first or second.
Selection is very limited and I wonder what a football player is doing in a list that will change the Gulf buinsess!
Mike Newman, Southampton,
As an expatriate living in Muscat,Oman for the last 25 years,I fully endorse Mr Bandar's assessment of the extraordinary transformation of Oman in 37 years under Sultan Qaboos Bin Said.When I arrived in Oman in 1981,Muscat was a small city with a few roads to talk about.The transformation of the entire country is the vision of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos,the leader of modern Oman.Oman has steamed ahead of other Gulf states in terms of development,in Health,education,telecommunications and infrastructure.The peace and security in Oman is second to none.All religions are respected and people of all nationality leave in peace with one another.The infrastructure around the country [the size of Great Britain] is a credit to Sultan Qaboos's vision.
What about other Omanis who have played a key role in the country?Hind Bahwan,Budoor Araimi and Dr Rawyia Al Busaidy are 3 outstanding ladies come to mind.
For me,as an expatriate Christian,Sultan Qaboos stands head and shoulders above the rest.
Samuel topen, Muscat, Oman.
Like the poster above, I would have to say that your views are very limited. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan – crown prince of Abu Dhabi – is by far more influential than Khaldoon Al Mubarak or Sheikh Sultan Bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan. I would like to point out that without his choice and approval of them, they would not have been appointed in their respective positions. Maybe you should reconsider the list and call it the 26 shaping tomorrow’s world of Middle East business. Mr.Cole, reporting from Dubai in the UAE, surely you must be aware of Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyans yielding power within the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. If not, then I suggest you take a visit to Abu Dhabi, interview people on the street and get a better understanding of who truly is influential.
Visiting Abu Dhabi, you would be surprised by how other people mentioned on your list have not progressed in their fields the way that Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan has progressed in his. Be it through education (the Sorbonne, Yale university), health care (John Hopkins, American Hospital from Thailand, Imperial College of Diabetes Center) and cultural (the Louvre, the Guggenheim).
Once again Mr.Cole……. take a little road trip to ABU DHABI.
s, Abu Dhabi, UAE
I would venture to suggest that your research of the top twenty five people shaping tomorrow's world of Middle East business is very much limited to certain countries in the Gulf.
One of the Middle East's greatest visionary of modern times is undoubtedly Sultan Qaboos Bin Said of Oman,who has overseen the exceptional rise of Oman from a medieval state in 1970 to a 21st century modern state.Oman is a country,the size of Great Britain,unlike Dubai,Abu Dhabi or Qatar which are city states.
I accept that those selected by you indeed play a major role in shaping the ME,but when you look at visionaries,unquestionably Sultan Qaboos Bin Said of Oman comes to mind as an equal or slightly ahead of Sh Mohammed Bin Rashid.Oman does not have the wealth of Abu Dhabi to fall upon like Dubai,yet the creation of a modern state in 37 years is unparralleled in modern times.This is the vision of Sultan Qaboos.
What about other Omanis like Suhail/Saud Bahwan,Omar Zawawi,Mohammed Barwani & Hind Bahwan?
Bandar Bin Salaam, Muscat, Oman.