Rupert Hoogewerf, Chairman and Chief Researcher, Hurun Report, said, “Hurun Report is all about promoting entrepreneurship and I am proud to release the first ever list of self-made billionaires from the Gulf. Almost half the self-made billionaires residing in the Gulf, are immigrants, especially India, who have settled here.”

• Majid Al Futtaim richest self-made individual from the gulf, with US$13BN, followed by Mohammed Al Amoudi of Corral Petroleum with US$8.1BN

• 27 self-made gulf billionaires

• With 16 billionaires, UAE is preferred country, followed by Saudi Arabia (7) and Oman (3)

• With 12 billionaires, Dubai is preferred city of residence, followed by Jeddah, Abu Dhabi, Riyadh and Muscat

• 12 immigrant billionaires, led by Ma Yusuff Ali, originally from South India, residing today in Abu Dhabi

• With US$1.5BN, Divyank Turakhia of Media.net, 35, is youngest self-made gulf billionaire

• Mohammed Al Amoudi of Corral Petroleum, is richest African immigrant

• Mahdi Al-Tajir, 75, only self-made gulf billionaire, now living overseas

• Real estate and financial services most popular industries

• Average age 65

• Leading authority on global wealth releases Hurun Gulf Self-made Billionaires 2017

• Total wealth of the 27 self-made billionaires is US$84bn; average wealth hits US$2.2bn, up 10% year on year. Rupert Hoogewerf, Chairman and Chief Researcher, Hurun Report, said, “If we managed to find 27 self-made billionaires, you can be sure there must be close to 100 self-made billionaires in the Gulf, since for every one that we have found, we have missed at least two if not more."

• Dubai with 12 billionaires is the preferred city followed by Jeddah with 4, and Abu Dhabi, Riyadh and Muscat with 3 each.

• The only billionaire, who migrated out from the Gulf is Mahdi Al-Tajir, 75, who owns bottled water brand Highland Spring, and is worth US$1.8bn; Al-Tajir lives in London and Scotland.

Top 10 Hurun Gulf Self-made Global Rich List 2017

Gulf Billionaires by Country

Gulf Billionaires by City

Gulf Billionaires by Industry

Majid Al Futtaim is the founder of Majid Al Futtaim Group, a leading real estate developer across the Gulf, Africa and Asia. With a fortune of US$13bn, he unveiled the first outdoor VOX Cinemas concept in Dubai and plans to open the Mall of Egypt in 2017.

With US$8.1bn, Mohammed Al Amoudi, 70, an Ethiopian billionaire, made his initial fortune in construction and real estate before setting out to buy oil refineries in Sweden and Morocco.  One of his most valuable assets is oil refiner Preem, which bills itself as the largest fuel company in Sweden.

‘Retail King’ MA Yusuff Ali, 61, has a fortune of US$6.2bn.  Emke Group owns the Lulu Hypermarket chain in the Gulf. New projects include a US$300 million investment in South India that will include a mall, hotel and convention center.

Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber, 57, of MBI Group has a wealth of US$6.2bn. He owns a string of luxury and budget hotels through JJW Hotels and Resorts. A UNESCO special envoy, through his foundation, Al Jaber has organized support for restoring Mali's cultural heritage including mosques and old Muslim manuscripts

Sulaiman Al Rajhi & family, 96, of Al-Rajhi Bank, the largest Islamic Bank in the world has a fortune of US$4.9bn. Al Rajhi has transferred a part of his stake in the bank to an endowment that bears his name and donated the bulk of his fortune to charity, funding anti-hunger efforts and education in Saudi Arabia. Another co-founder of the bank, Abdulla Al Rajhi makes the list.

Micky Jagtiani, 64, tis a Dubai retail mogul and the founder of Landmark Group with US$4.6bn. In 2015, after Donald Trump made anti-Muslim remarks, Dubai’s Landmark Group suspended sales of all Trump-branded products.

Hussain Sajwani, 63, of Damac Properties, has been promoting properties to foreigners, who are allowed to own property in the emirate. The Trump International Golf Course Dubai was opened in February 2017 at Damac's Akoya residential development, and the Trump World Golf Course, designed by Tiger Woods, is slated to open at a separate Damac development at the end of 2018. He has a fortune of US$3.5bn.

Abdullah Al Futtaim is the cousin of Majid, and runs Al Futtaim Group, a leading car distributor and owner of an insurance company.

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