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Prince Alwaleed remains on top of Arab world for seventh year
Published On Mon Dec 20 2010
Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud and his wife, Princess Amira, arrive to greet the Prince of Wales in London, England on November 2, 2010.
Oli Scarff/GETTY IMAGES
Glen Carey The Washington Post
RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIAPrince Alwaleed bin Talal was ranked the richest Arab businessman by Arabian Business magazine for the seventh year after adding more than $2 billion (U.S.) to his wealth this year.
Alwaleeds assets were valued at $20.4 billion, the Dubai- based magazine said Monday in its 2010 Arab Rich List, adding that the figure was confirmed by the Saudi princes office in Riyadh. It compares with Alwaleeds wealth of $18 billion reported last year by Arabian Business.
Alwaleed, 55, has restructured Kingdom Holding Co. and invested $500 million in General Motorss initial public offering in November to drive investment growth as the global financial crisis unwinds. Riyadh-based Kingdom Holding, 95 per cent owned by Prince Alwaleed, announced Sunday that it will pay its first annual dividend in 2011 since listing on the Saudi stock exchange more than three years ago.
Taking into account the latest market values of Kingdom Holding, and an appreciation in the value of many of his key assets, we now place a figure of $20.4 billion on his total wealth, Arabian Business said. The magazine assessed Alwaleeds assets in five areas, including Kingdom Holding, companies outside Saudi Arabia, property and transportation.
Shares of Kingdom Holding have gained less than 1 per cent this year, while the Tadawul All-Share Index, the largest exchange in the Middle East, has advanced 7.2 per cent.
Saudi businesses represented six of the 10 richest Arabs this year on the Arabian Business list. The wealth of the top 10 Arabs climbed 16 per cent from last year to $100 billion, the magazine said.
Saudi Arabian businessman Sheikh Mohamed Bin Issa Al-Jaber was ranked the second richest Arab with $12 billion, up from $9.7 billion in 2009. He is the founder of MBI International.
The Olayan family, with more than 50 companies from manufacturing to providing investments services, ranked third with $11.9 billion in wealth. Mohammed al-Amoudi, whose Corral Group owns Preem, Swedens largest refiner, followed with $10 billion. The Saudi Binladin Group with $9.8 billion was ranked fifth.
Saudi companies have benefited as the Arab worlds largest economy implements a $400 billion, five-year spending package, announced in late 2008, to stimulate economic growth expected by the central bank at 3.5 per cent this year. The government also announced a $384 billion, five-year spending plan in August.
Saudi Arabia has by far the biggest number of entries on the list, with the kingdoms entities taking up the top five places alone, Arabian Business said. Altogether, there are 32 Saudi entries on the 2010 list, and of the 24 new entries, 20 of them came from the Gulfs biggest economy.
Kuwaits Nasser Al-Kharafi dropped three spots to the sixth position with $8.2 billion, according to the list. Al-Kharafi had $9.4 billion, according to the Arabian Business 2009 list.
Alwaleed built his fortune by investing in brand-name companies he considered undervalued, including Apple, News Corp. and Time Warner. He ranks 19th on Forbes magazines list of the worlds richest billionaires.
Alwaleed and Kingdom Holding bought a 1 per cent stake in Detroit-based GMs IPO because of the relatively attractive offering price and growth prospects in Brazil and China, according to a company statement last month.
(www.torontostar.ca)
Published On Mon Dec 20 2010
Oli Scarff/GETTY IMAGES
Glen Carey The Washington Post
RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIAPrince Alwaleed bin Talal was ranked the richest Arab businessman by Arabian Business magazine for the seventh year after adding more than $2 billion (U.S.) to his wealth this year.
Alwaleeds assets were valued at $20.4 billion, the Dubai- based magazine said Monday in its 2010 Arab Rich List, adding that the figure was confirmed by the Saudi princes office in Riyadh. It compares with Alwaleeds wealth of $18 billion reported last year by Arabian Business.
Alwaleed, 55, has restructured Kingdom Holding Co. and invested $500 million in General Motorss initial public offering in November to drive investment growth as the global financial crisis unwinds. Riyadh-based Kingdom Holding, 95 per cent owned by Prince Alwaleed, announced Sunday that it will pay its first annual dividend in 2011 since listing on the Saudi stock exchange more than three years ago.
Taking into account the latest market values of Kingdom Holding, and an appreciation in the value of many of his key assets, we now place a figure of $20.4 billion on his total wealth, Arabian Business said. The magazine assessed Alwaleeds assets in five areas, including Kingdom Holding, companies outside Saudi Arabia, property and transportation.
Shares of Kingdom Holding have gained less than 1 per cent this year, while the Tadawul All-Share Index, the largest exchange in the Middle East, has advanced 7.2 per cent.
Saudi businesses represented six of the 10 richest Arabs this year on the Arabian Business list. The wealth of the top 10 Arabs climbed 16 per cent from last year to $100 billion, the magazine said.
Saudi Arabian businessman Sheikh Mohamed Bin Issa Al-Jaber was ranked the second richest Arab with $12 billion, up from $9.7 billion in 2009. He is the founder of MBI International.
The Olayan family, with more than 50 companies from manufacturing to providing investments services, ranked third with $11.9 billion in wealth. Mohammed al-Amoudi, whose Corral Group owns Preem, Swedens largest refiner, followed with $10 billion. The Saudi Binladin Group with $9.8 billion was ranked fifth.
Saudi companies have benefited as the Arab worlds largest economy implements a $400 billion, five-year spending package, announced in late 2008, to stimulate economic growth expected by the central bank at 3.5 per cent this year. The government also announced a $384 billion, five-year spending plan in August.
Saudi Arabia has by far the biggest number of entries on the list, with the kingdoms entities taking up the top five places alone, Arabian Business said. Altogether, there are 32 Saudi entries on the 2010 list, and of the 24 new entries, 20 of them came from the Gulfs biggest economy.
Kuwaits Nasser Al-Kharafi dropped three spots to the sixth position with $8.2 billion, according to the list. Al-Kharafi had $9.4 billion, according to the Arabian Business 2009 list.
Alwaleed built his fortune by investing in brand-name companies he considered undervalued, including Apple, News Corp. and Time Warner. He ranks 19th on Forbes magazines list of the worlds richest billionaires.
Alwaleed and Kingdom Holding bought a 1 per cent stake in Detroit-based GMs IPO because of the relatively attractive offering price and growth prospects in Brazil and China, according to a company statement last month.
(www.torontostar.ca)
