Billionaires from Saudi Arabia were excluded from Forbes’ global list for the sixth consecutive year.
The last year has proven challenging for the world’s richest people. The Forbes World’s Billionaires 2023 ranking features 2,640 people, down from 2,668 in 2022. Collectively, billionaires are now worth $12.2 trillion—$500 billion less than in March last year—and nearly half are poorer than they were in 2022.
This is also reflected in the Middle East, with nine of the 21 Arab billionaires worth less now than they were a year ago. However, their collective wealth has gone up from $52.9 billion in 2022 to $53.9 billion in 2023. Billionaires from Saudi Arabia were excluded from Forbes’ global list for the sixth consecutive year.
1. Nassef Sawiris
Net Worth 2023: $7.4B
Change since 2022: -$300M
Citizenship: Egypt
Residence: Egypt
Global Rank: 305
Nassef Sawiris is an investor and a scion of Egypt’s wealthiest family. His most valuable asset is a nearly 6% stake in sportswear maker Adidas. In December 2020, he acquired a 5% stake in New York-listed firm Madison Square Garden Sports, owner of the NBA Knicks and the NHL Rangers teams. He runs OCI, one of the world’s largest nitrogen fertilizer producers, with plants in Texas and Iowa; it trades on the Euronext Amsterdam exchange. Orascom Construction, an engineering and building firm, trades on the Egyptian Exchange and Nasdaq Dubai. His holdings include stakes in cement giant Lafarge Holcim and Adidas; he sits on the supervisory board of Adidas. Nassef Sawiris teamed up with Fortress Investment Group’s Wes Edens to purchase the Premier League’s Aston Villa Football Club.
2. Issad Rebrab & family
Net Worth 2023: $4.6B
Change since 2022: -$500M
Citizenship: Algeria
Residence: Algeria
Global Rank: 591
Rebrab founded Cevital and served as its CEO for more than 50 years. He named his son, Malik, CEO in July 2022. Cevital, Algeria’s biggest privately held company, owns one of the largest sugar refineries in the world, with the capacity to produce 2 million tons a year. Cevital owns European companies, including French home appliances maker Groupe Brandt, an Italian steel mill and a German water purification company. After serving eight months in jail on charges of corruption, Rebrab was released on January 1, 2020. He denies any wrongdoing.
3. Hussain Sajwani
Net Worth 2023: $4.5B
Change since 2022: +$1.8B
Citizenship: U.A.E.
Residence: U.A.E.
Global Rank: 611
Hussain Sajwani is the chairman of Dubai-based luxury real estate developer DAMAC Properties, which he founded in 2002. He started out in the food services business, catering to the U.S. military and construction giant Bechtel. In 2001, after Dubai allowed foreigners to own property, he shifted to real estate and sold units in a residential building in less than six months. DAMAC teamed up with Donald Trump in 2013 to develop two Trump-branded golf courses in Dubai developments. Sajwani is known for extravagant marketing, sometimes offering free Lamborghinis to apartment buyers. He has co-branding deals with Versace and Bugatti.
4. Mohamed Mansour
Net Worth 2023: $3.6B
Change since 2022: +$1.1B
Citizenship: Egypt
Residence: U.K.
Global Rank: 787
Mohamed Mansour oversees family conglomerate Mansour Group, which was founded by his late father Loutfy in 1952 and has 60,000 employees. Mansour established General Motors dealerships in Egypt in 1975, later becoming one of GM’s biggest distributors worldwide. Mansour Group also has exclusive distribution rights for Caterpillar equipment in Egypt and seven other African countries. Mansour, who has both Egyptian and U.K. citizenship, served as Egypt’s minister of transportation from 2006 to 2009 under the Hosni Mubarak regime. His brothers Yasseen and Youssef, who share ownership in the family group, are also billionaires; his son Loutfy heads private equity arm Man Capital.
5. Naguib Sawiris
Net Worth 2023: $3.3B
Change since 2022: -$100M
Citizenship: Egypt
Residence: Egypt
Global Rank: 878
Naguib Sawiris is a scion of Egypt’s wealthiest family. His brother Nassef is also a billionaire. He built a fortune in telecom, selling Orascom Telecom in 2011 to Russian telecom firm VimpelCom (now Veon) in a multibillion-dollar transaction. He’s chairman of Orascom TMT Investments, which has stakes in an asset manager in Egypt and Italian internet company Italiaonline, among others. He developed a luxury resort called Silversands on the Caribbean island of Grenada.
6. Abdulla bin Ahmad Al Ghurair & family
Net Worth 2023: $3B
Change since 2022: +$400M
Citizenship: U.A.E.
Residence: U.A.E.
Global Rank: 982
Abdulla Al Ghurair founded Mashreqbank in 1967. He stepped down as chairman in October 2019, but remains a board member. His eponymous holding company has interests in food, construction and real estate; non-family members are part of the leadership team. His construction company did the exterior cladding of Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, and helped build the Dubai Metro. His brother Saif Al Ghurair, who passed away in August 2019, was also a billionaire.
7. Najib Mikati
Net Worth 2023: $2.8B
Change since 2022: -$400M
Citizenship: Lebanon
Residence: Lebanon
Global Rank: 1067
Najib Mikati cofounded Beirut-based investment firm M1 Group. Mikati currently serves at the prime minister of Lebanon, a position he previously held from 2011 to 2014 and briefly in 2005. Mikati and his billionaire brother Taha founded Investcom in 1982, selling satellite phones at the height of Lebanon’s civil war. They expanded into Africa where they built cellphone towers in Ghana, Liberia and Benin, among other countries. In 2005, Investcom went public on the London Stock Exchange, and in 2009, South Africa’s MTN bought the Mikatis’ stake for $3.6 billion.
8. Taha Mikati
Net Worth 2023: $2.8B
Change since 2022: -$400M
Citizenship: Lebanon
Residence: Lebanon
Global Rank: 1067
Taha Mikati cofounded Beirut-based holding company M1 Group. Its investments include stakes in South African telecom firm MTN, fashion retailer Pepe Jeans and prime real estate in New York, London and Monaco. Mikati and his billionaire brother Najib founded Investcom in 1982, selling satellite phones at the height of Lebanon’s civil war. They expanded into Africa where they built cellphone towers in Ghana, Liberia and Benin, among other countries. In 2005, Investcom went public on the London Stock Exchange, and in 2009, South Africa’s MTN bought the Mikatis’ stake for $3.6 billion.
9. Suhail Bahwan
Net Worth 2023: $2.7B
Change since 2022: +$200M
Citizenship: Oman
Residence: Oman
Global Rank: 1104
Suhail Bahwan is the founder and chairman of Suhail Bahwan Group, one of the largest conglomerates in Oman. It is a major producer of fertilizers, generating 1.3 million tons of urea annually. It also owns Nissan and BWM dealerships. He first went into business with his brother Saud in 1965, selling fishing nets and building materials, before scoring the Toyota dealership in 1975. In 2002, he split with his brother, who kept the Toyota dealership and passed it along after his death to his son Mohammed.
10. Abdulla Al Futtaim & family
Net Worth 2023: $2.4B
Change since 2022: -$100M
Citizenship: U.A.E.
Residence: U.A.E.
Global Rank: 1272
Abdulla Al Futtaim owns the conglomerate Al Futtaim Group, run by his son Omar, who is vice chairman and CEO. In 1955, the group became the exclusive distributor in the U.A.E. of Toyota– and still has the distributorship today. Al Futtaim is also licensed to operate Hertz, Ikea, Toys (R) Us, and Marks and Spencer in the U.A.E. The retailers anchor their malls, which include Dubai Festival City, Dubai Festival Plaza, Doha Festival City, and Cairo Festival City. His cousin Majid Al Futtaim died in December 2021 and was also a billionaire.
11. Bahaa Hariri
Net Worth 2023: $2.1B
Change since 2022: No change
Citizenship: Lebanon
Residence: Switzerland
Global Rank: 1434
Bahaa Hariri is the eldest son of slain Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. He inherited his fortune from his father, who was a billionaire. In 2008, Bahaa Hariri sold his stake in Saudi Oger, the family construction business, to his brother Saad Hariri, also a former prime minister of Lebanon. Bahaa Hariri founded and chairs Horizon Group, a real estate holding company with investments in Amman, Jordan and Beirut, Lebanon. He helped revitalize an area of Amman, called Abdali, in partnership with the Jordanian government. He’s the majority owner of Globe Express Services, a logistics company with a presence in more than 100 countries.
12. Mohamed Al Fayed
Net Worth 2023: $2B
Change since 2022: -$100M
Citizenship: Egypt
Residence: U.K.
Global Rank: 1516
Mohamed Al Fayed was born in Alexandria, Egypt and moved in the mid-1960s to the U.K., where he made his fortune. He’s best known for being the one-time owner of London department store Harrod’s, which he sold to Qatar for a reported $2.4 billion in 2010. He owns the storied Ritz Paris hotel. After a four-year renovation, it reopened in 2016. Suites are named after illustrious guests, like Coco Chanel. In 2013, Al Fayed sold Fulham Football Club to U.S. auto parts billionaire Shahid Khan for a reported $300 million.
13. Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani
Net Worth 2023: $1.8B
Change since 2022: -$300M
Citizenship: Qatar
Residence: Qatar
Global Rank: 1647
Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani is the chairman of Al Faisal Holding, one of Qatar’s biggest conglomerates, which he founded in 1964. It owns more than 20 hotels around the world, including the St. Regis in Washington, D.C. and Miami, and the W Hotel in London. Al Faisal Holding also has a majority stake in publicly-traded Aamal, which owns real estate in Qatar and sells medical supplies and pharmaceuticals. Al Thani started selling car parts in Doha at age 16. He became the sole distributor of Bridgestone tires in the 1960s.
14. Youssef Mansour
Net Worth 2023: $1.5B
Change since 2022: No change
Citizenship: Egypt
Residence: Egypt
Global Rank: 1905
Youssef Mansour is chairman of family-owned conglomerate Mansour Group, which was founded by his late father Loutfy in 1952. Mansour Group is the exclusive distributor of GM vehicles and Caterpillar equipment in Egypt and several other countries. He oversees the consumer goods division, which includes supermarket chain Metro, and sole distribution rights for L’Oreal in Egypt. Younger brothers Mohamed and Yasseen are also billionaires and part owners of Mansour Group.
15. Aziz Akhannouch & family
Net Worth 2023: $1.5B
Change since 2022: -$500M
Citizenship: Morocco
Residence: Morocco
Global Rank: 1905
Aziz Akhannouch is the majority owner of Akwa Group, a multibillion-dollar conglomerate founded by his father and a partner, Ahmed Wakrim, in 1932. It has interests in petroleum, gas and chemicals through publicly-traded Afriquia Gaz and Maghreb Oxygene. Akhannouch was appointed prime minister of Morocco in September 2021.
16. Robert Mouawad
Net Worth 2023: $1.5B
Change since 2022: No change
Citizenship: Lebanon
Residence: Bahrain
Global Rank: 1905
Robert Mouawad inherited the family’s eponymous high-end jewelry business that his grandfather founded in Beirut in 1890. He turned over management of the business to his sons Fred, Alain and Pascal in 2010. Mouawad boasts one of the world’s most dazzling gem collections, including Dynasty, a 51.12 carat Russian diamond estimated at nearly $10 million. Robert Mouawad also owns extensive real estate and has developed luxury residences on a man-made island in Bahrain.
17. Ayman Hariri
Net Worth 2023: $1.4B
Change since 2022: No change
Citizenship: Lebanon
Residence: France
Global Rank: 2020
Ayman Hariri is a son of the late Rafik Hariri, Lebanon’s prime minister, who was assassinated while in office in 2005. He inherited a stake in his father’s Saudi-based construction company Saudi Oger, and sold it to his brother Saad in 2014. In 2017, he sold his 42% stake in family holding company GroupeMed, which has interests in banking and real estate, for $535 million. He invests in startups through New York-based firm Red Sea Ventures; among its investments was smart thermostat Nest, now part of Google. He’s a cofounder and CEO of Vero, an ad-free social media platform that lets users share music, videos and photos.
18. Yasseen Mansour
Net Worth 2023: $1.3B
Change since 2022: +$200M
Citizenship: Egypt
Residence: Egypt
Global Rank: 2133
Yasseen Mansour is a shareholder in family-owned conglomerate Mansour Group, which was founded by his late father Loutfy in 1952. Mansour Group is the exclusive distributor of GM vehicles and Caterpillar equipment in Egypt and several other countries. His brothers Mohamed and Youssef are also billionaires and part owners of Mansour Group. He’s chairman of Palm Hills Developments, one of Egypt’s biggest real estate developers.
19. Othman Benjelloun & family
Net Worth 2023: $1.3B
Change since 2022: No change
Citizenship: Morocco
Residence: Morocco
Global Rank: 2133
Othman Benjelloun is Chairman and CEO of BMCE Bank of Africa, which has a presence in more than 20 African countries. His father was a shareholder in RMA, a Moroccan insurance company; Benjelloun built it into a leading insurer. Through his holding company FinanceCom, he has a stake in the Moroccan arm of French telecom firm Orange. He inaugurated in 2014 a $500 million plan to build the 55-story Mohammed VI Tower in Rabat. It will be one of the tallest buildings in Africa. FinanceCom is part of a project to develop a multibillion-dollar tech city in Tangiers that is expected to host 200 Chinese companies.
20. Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani
Net Worth 2023: $1.2B
Change since 2022: No change
Citizenship: Qatar
Residence: Qatar
Global Rank: 2259
Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani was prime minister of Qatar between 2007 and 2013; he also served as foreign minister from 1992 until 2013. His great uncle founded modern Qatar in 1971, and he’s a cousin of the current Emir. Through an entity called Paramount Services Holdings, Al Thani owns 3% of Deustche Bank, his biggest publicly-traded holding. In 2016, he was mentioned in the (Panama Papers)–leaked files from Panama law firm Mossack Fonseca, which set up offshore entities for clients.
21. Fahed Hariri
Net Worth 2023: $1.2B
Change since 2022: No change
Citizenship: Lebanon
Residence: U.K.
Global Rank: 2259
Fahed Hariri is the youngest son of the late billionaire Rafik Hariri, the former prime minister of Lebanon who was assassinated in 2005. In 2012, Fahed sold his shares in family construction firm Saudi Oger to his brother Saad Hariri, who was Lebanon’s prime minister until January 2020. He invested some of the proceeds in real estate in New York, Paris and Monte Carlo and in now beleaguered Lebanese banks. He is also developing residential buildings in Beirut.