Family businesses are the backbone of the Middle East’s economies, with some of the largest businesses in the region run by families through private companies. Forbes Middle East will release its list of the Top 100 Family Businesses In The Middle East next week. Ahead of its release, here’s a look at the Top 10 most powerful Arab families in the region.
KEY FACTS
- The list topped the Mansour Group, which has three members of the family on the Forbes 2020 World Billionaires List. The group is one of the largest distributors of General Motors Group and has investments in technology companies such as Spotify and Uber.
- This is followed by Al-Futtaim Group, which owns 100% of the Arab Orient Insurance Company, and 50% of Emirates Investment Bank, in addition to several investments in car agencies, real estate and building materials.
- Out of the top ten, four companies are from Saudi Arabia, four from the United Arab Emirates, and one company from Egypt and Kuwait.
- The Olayan Group topped Saudi companies on the list thanks to its stake in Credit Suisse Bank and Saudi British Bank, while Al-Futtaim Group was at the forefront of UAE companies on the list thanks to its possession of a Toyota agency in the United Arab Emirates.
Methodology
We looked at approximately 200 Arab family-owned businesses in the region. We considered:
- Group investments in regional and global stock exchanges and real estate assets.
- Business diversification and the number of sectors in which they have significant operations.
- Types of business activity and to what extent they have been affected by this crisis.
- Number of employees.
- Number of countries they are present in and geographical diversification.
- Date of establishment.
1 Mansour Group
Chairperson: Mohamed, Youssef, and Yasseen Mansour
Country: Egypt
Established in: 1952
Sector: Diversified
Founded by the late Loutfy Mansour, Egypt’s Mansour Group has operations in over 100 countries. The group comprises of six divisions: Automotive, Mantrac, Mansour Financial, Manfoods, MMID, and Man Capital. It is one of the largest dealers and distributors of General Motors and Caterpillar equipment worldwide. It also distributes international brands in Egypt and runs over 100 Mc Donald’s outlets. Man Capital was an early investor in Spotify, Uber, Airbnb, Facebook, and Twitter, among others. The group is run by the Mansour brothers: Yasseen, Mohammed, and Yousseff Mansour. All three are billionaires with a combined net worth of $7.4 billion.
2 Al-Futtaim Group
Chairperson: Abdullah Al Futtaim
Country: U.A.E.
Established in: 1930
Sector: Diversified
Founded in the 1930s by current chairman Abdulla Al-Futtaim, the Al-Futtaim Group today has over 200 businesses in sectors including automotive, financial services, real estate, retail, and health categories. The group runs dealerships for Toyota and Honda, and it manufactures tractors in Pakistan. The company holds the license to operate several brands across fashion, including Zara and Marks and Spencer. Its real estate portfolio includes Dubai Festival City, Cairo Festival City, Intercontinental Hotel, and Crowne Plaza. Al-Futtaim ranked #1001 on Forbes World’s Billionaires list 2020 with a net worth of $2.1 billion. The conglomerate is run by his son Omar.
3 Olayan Group
Chairperson: Hutham Olayan
Country: Saudi Arabia
Established in: 1947
Sector: Diversified
Founded in 1947 by Suliman S. Olayan, the Olayan Group built its foundations in contracting and commerce in Saudi Arabia. Today, the conglomerate is famed for its diverse commercial, industrial operations and investment portfolio. The family owns 4.93% of Swiss bank Credit Suisse, and 18.24% of the Saudi British Bank. Real estate assets include 50 Madison Avenue in New York City, Knightsbridge Estate in London, and the Hotel Ritz in Madrid, as well as office, retail, and residential assets in Paris’s 8th Arrondissement. Hutham Olayan, who chairs the company corporate board, has also been a board member of IBM.
4 Majid Al Futtaim
Chairperson: Michael Rake
Country: U.A.E.
Established in: 1992
Sector: Diversified
Majid Al Futtaim Holding (MAF) was founded in 1992 by billionaire Majid Al Futtaim. The retailing and entertainment giant currently owns and operates 27 shopping malls and 13 hotels, which receive about 200 million and 1.6 million visitors and guests a year respectively. Its famous mall brands are Mall of the Emirates, Mall of Egypt and the City Center Malls across the region, which house over 3,000 retailers. In 1995, MAF bought the exclusive franchise rights to Carrefour in 38 countries. Majid Al Futtaim has a net worth of $3.3 billion and ranked #590 on Forbes World’s Billionaires list 2020.
5 Rashed Abdul Rahman Al Rashed & Sons Group
Chairperson: Abudlaziz Al Rashed
Country: Saudi Arabia
Established in: 1950
Sector: Diversified
Founded in 1950 by Rashed Al Rashed, Saudi’s Rashed Abdul Rahman Al Rashed & Sons Group has 26 wholly-owned companies. It operates in seven business areas, including building materials, cement, and bulk materials, finishing materials, real estate, contracting, industrial products, automotive products, and food products. The company’s investments include 9.83% in Banque Saudi Fransi, 9.9% of Arab National Bank, and 16.9% of Al Yamamah Steel Industries, making it one of the biggest private investor in the Saudi Stock market. Rashed Al Rashed’s son Abdulaziz Al Rashed chairs the company.
6 Abdul Latif Jameel
Chairperson: Mohammed Abdul Latif Jameel
Country: Saudi Arabia
Established in: 1945
Sector: Diversified
The Abdul Latif Jameel was founded in Jeddah in 1945 by the late Abdul Latif Jameel as a small trading business. Ten years later, the group was appointed as a Toyota distributor and built the largest vehicle distribution network in the kingdom. Today it operates in 30 countries in the Middle East, North Africa, and Turkey. Its core operations are mainly in transportation, engineering and manufacturing, financial services, land and real estate, energy and environmental services, consumer products, and advertising and media sectors. The group has grown through various investments and acquisitions.
7 Al-Ghurair
Chairperson: Abdul Aziz Abdulla Al Ghurair
Country: U.A.E.
Established in: 1960
Sector: Diversified
Al-Ghurair’s portfolio includes Al Ghurair Properties, which manages several residential, office, street retail, industrial, and hospitality businesses. It established the Al Ghurair Centre in 1982, the first shopping mall in the MENA region, which also owns Swissôtel Al Ghurair. Al Ghurair Foods operates the largest poultry farm in the U.A.E. and produces flour, semolina, and oats. Billionaire Abdulla Al Ghurair owns the holding company and founded Mashreq Bank, the largest private sector bank in the U.A.E. Founder, Abdulla Al Ghurair ranked #494 Forbes World’s Billionaires List 2020, with a net worth of $3.7 billion.
8 Alghanim Industries
Chairperson: Kutayba Y. Alghanim
Country: Kuwait
Established in: 1932
Sector: Diversified
Alghanim Industries was founded by the late Yusuf Alghanim in 1932. Yusuf was a founding member of the Commercial Bank of Kuwait, the Kuwait National Petroleum Company, and the Kuwait Pipes Company. Today the group has over 30 businesses in six key segments: automotive, engineering, food, and beverage, industrial, consumer, and services. Among the famous brands under its portfolio are Costa Coffee, Wendy’s, GM, and Ford. With a net worth of $1.3 billion, billionaire Kutayba Alghanim currently sits as the executive chairman of the group.
9 Al-Ghurair Group
Chairperson: Abdul Rahman Saif Al Ghurair
Country: U.A.E.
Established in: 1960
Sector: Diversified
The Al Ghurair Group was founded by the late Saif Ahmed Al Ghurair in 1960. The BurJuman Centre in Bur Dubai is the group’s flagship property under its real estate portfolio. Its petrochemical business, Taghleef Industries, is among the largest global manufacturers of biaxially oriented polypropylene film, used in food packaging. The group is also involved in metal manufacturing through Al Ghurair Iron and Steel, a producer of hot-dipped galvanized steel. Saif Ahmed Al Ghurair’s son Abdul Rahman Saif Al Ghurair chairs the company.
10 Zamil Group Holding
Chairperson: Khalid A. Al-Zamil
Country: Saudi Arabia
Established in: 1920
Sector: Diversified
Founder Abdullah Hamad Al Zamil first established his trade and services business in Bahrain in 1920. While its portfolio is dominated by wholly-owned and joint-venture entities, the Al Zamil Group also owns shares of two publicly-listed companies on the Saudi Stock Exchange: Zamil Industrial and Sahara petrochemical. Zamil Industrial became the first family-owned company in Saudi Arabia to be listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange in 2002 and was later followed by Sipchem in 2006. Prior to his current positions, Al Zamil was Chairman of the Saudi Council of the Chambers of Commerce.
Source: Forbes Middle East
