UAE residents have made it to the Forbes’ 2016 Billionaires List, with a combined net worth of a whopping $36.2 billion (Dh133bn).
Forbes, the US-based magazine recently published its annual global billionaires’ list, which shows that the number of billionaires in UAE went up from eight in 2014 to 10 in 2015 to 12 in 2016.
It is overwhelming a news that combined wealth that the UAE’s billionaires have at their disposal has surged $2.1bn (Dh7.7bn) from $34.1bn (Dh125bn) last year.
Among the billionaires from the UAE, five are Emiratis and seven Indians who’ve made the UAE their home.
On top of the UAE list for 2015 is Majid Al Futtaim. He is the brother of billionaire Abdulla Al Futtaim, and is ranked #270 among global billionaires this year (#230 in 2015). His privately-held holding company (also known as Majid Al Futtaim) is mall-operator that runs several properties across the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia, including Mall of the Emirates (with an indoor ski slope) and Carrefour hypermarkets.
Abdulla bin Ahmad Al Ghurair & Family slip down a rank this year, having topped the UAE billionaire rankings last year. Forbes estimates his current net worth at $4.9bn, down from $6.4bn last year.
Rounding up the Top 3 billionaires in the UAE is the Indian-born, Dubai-based Micky Jagtiani, who ranks #338 globally (#291 in 2015) whose current wealth is estimated at $4.4bn by Forbes, down from $5.2bn last year.
At No. 4 among the UAE’s richest people is India-born and Abu Dhabi-based M.A. Yusuff Ali with a net worth of $4.2bn, hugely up from $2.5bn last year. He is ranked #358 globally, up from #737 last year.
Making a debut on the UAE rich list this year is Hussain Sajwani at #5 , who also rounds up the Top 5 billionaires in the country. “Hussain Sajwani founded residential real estate developer Damac Properties in 2002, taking advantage of a Dubai government decree that allowed foreigners to own property in the Emirates.