Egyptian billionaire Nassef Sawiris tops list of richest Arab billionaires

According to the thirty-sixth world’s billionaires list published by U.S. business magazine Forbes, Egypt’s richest man Nassef Sawiris has held his position as the biggest Arab billionaire with a net worth of $7.7 billion.

Despite losing $600 million in net worth due to the decline in the market value of his six-percent stake in German sportswear behemoth Adidas, Sawiris remains the richest Arab billionaire on the Forbes list of the world’s richest people, which includes 2,668 billionaires from all walks of life.

The cohort of the world’s wealthiest Arabs has mostly remained the same since 2021, according to the U.S. business journal, with Egyptian and Lebanese billionaires ruling the list.

With a $5.1-billion fortune earned from his ownership in Cevital, Algerian businessman Issad Rebrab, the founder and owner of the country’s leading private group, is the second richest Arab billionaire on the list.

Meanwhile, Naguib Sawiris, Nassef Sawiris’ older brother, came in third with a net worth of $3.4 billion, generated from his wealth diversified investment across firms in Africa and the Middle East.

This year, there are 21 Arab billionaires globally, down from 22 in 2021, and their combined fortune has dropped somewhat to $52.9 billion in 2022, down from $53.4 billion the year before.

The fractionally decline in their aggregate wealth can be attributed to Emirati tycoon Majid Al Futtaim, who passed away in December 2021, and was as a result dropped off the 2022 list.

Three billionaires from the United Arab Emirates are on the list for 2022: Husain Sajwani, Abdulla bin Ahmad Al Ghurair and family, and Abdulla Al Futtaim and family.

Representing Morocco and Qatar are Moroccan Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch and family, banking mogul Othman Benjelloun and family, Faisal Bin Qassim Al Thani and Hamad bin Jassim Al Thani.