Seven entrepreneurs and conglomerates from the UAE who are currently holding massive assets in diversified businesses landed on Forbes 2019 list of richest people on earth.
Retail magnate Majid Al Futtaim and family took the crown as this year’s wealthiest Emirati billionaire, with a net worth of $5.1 billion (Dh18.7 billion).
The owner of a number of shopping malls, including Mall of the Emirates and Deira City Centre in UAE, jumped from the second place in 2018 to the top spot this year, edging out last year’s richest, Abdulla bin Ahmad Al Ghurair and family.
Al Futtaim is the only Emirati businessman who has entered the new year with a higher net worth, earning about half a billion dollars more during a 12-month period from $4.6 billion in March 2018. The Emirati tycoon has continuously expanded its business empire and is now gearing up for the opening of its first mall in Abu Dhabi, which is expected to generate at least 2,000 jobs.
As of this month, the combined fortunes of the seven Emirati businessmen on the list stood at $19.7 billion, down from $24 billion last year, posting a one-year aggregate loss of $4.3 billion.
The Forbes list of the world’s billionaires include 2,153 people. Al Futtaim is ranked 343th richest on the planet.
In the UAE, the second wealthiest Emirati for 2019 is Abdulla bin Ahmad Al Ghurair and family, with a net worth of $4.6 billion, down from $5.9 billion last year.
The founder of Mashreq bank, Dubai’s third-largest lender by assets that started in 1967, slipped to the second position. The businessman’s holding company has interests in food, construction and real estate. His bank had recently announced that it will be cutting the number of its branches over the next three years by half, as it shifts towards digital banking.
Abdulla Al Futtaim (and family), a cousin of Majid Al Futtaim who built a multi-billion-dirham fortune through selling Toyota cars, franchising global brands such as Zara, Ikea, Toys “R” Us and Hertz, as well as setting up shopping malls like Dubai Festival City and Cairo Festival City, is now the third-richest billionaire in UAE. Last year, Abdulla was in the fourth position.
Slipping from the third to the fourth position is real estate tycoon Hussain Sajwani. The chairman of Dubai-based luxury real estate developer Damac Properties is currently valued at $2.4 billion, down from $4.1 billion last year.
One of the UAE businessmen who gave away extravagant gifts, such as Lamborghinis to apartment buyers, in order to attract investments, Sajwani teamed up with Donald Trump in 2013 to develop two Trump-branded golf courses in Dubai developments.
The billionaire said early this year that he intends to invest some Dh4.79 billion in London’s property market, to take advantage of the weak pound.
The remaining three billionaires who have retained their positions in UAE are Saeed Bin Butti Al Qebaisi in the fifth place, Saif Al Ghurair and family (6th) and Khalifa bin Butti Al Muhairi (7th).
Al Qebaisi, who has investments in the healthcare sector, saw his fortunes drop from $2.7 billion to $2.2 billion, while Saif recorded a decline of $200 million.
Al Muhairi, who also has investments in the healthcare industry, saw his net worth slip from $1.5 billion to $1.2 billion.
Analysts said the volatility in the stock markets, coupled with the softening of the real estate sector, among other factors, may have impacted the billionaires’ net worth.
“Family businesses in UAE have diversified interests across industries including banking, automobiles, real estate, retail and healthcare. Economic activity has been subdued, real estate sales have been soft and the Dubai stock market lost almost a quarter of its value last year. Possibly, this could have an impact on the net worth,” Raghu Mandagolathur, executive vice president for Kuwait Financial Centre, told Gulf News.
7 UAE residents among world’s richest
1. Majid Al Futtaim and family

Global rank: # 343
Net worth in 2019: $5.1 billion
Net worth in 2018: $4.6 billion
Source: Real estate, retail
Last year’s rank in UAE: #2
2. Abdulla bin Ahmad Al Ghurair and family

Global rank: #413
Net worth in 2019: $4.6 billion
Net worth in 2018: $5.9 billion
Source: Diversified
Last year’s rank in UAE: #1
3. Abdulla Al Futtaim and family

Global rank: #916
Net worth in 2019: 2.5 billion
Net worth in 2018: $3.3 billion
Source: Auto dealership, investments
Last year’s rank in UAE: #4
4. Hussain Sajwani

Global rank: #962
Net worth in 2019: $2.4 billion
Net worth in 2018: $4.1 billion
Source: Real estate
Last year’s rank in UAE: #3
5. Saeed Bin Butti Al Qebaisi
Global rank: #1,057
Net worth in 2019: $2.2 billion
Net worth in 2018: $2.7 billion
Source: Hospitals, investments
Last year’s rank in UAE: 5
6. Saif Al Ghurair and family

Global rank: #1,349
Net worth: $1.7 billion
Net worth in 2018: $1.9 billion
Source: Diversified
Last year’s rank: #6
7. Khalifa Bin Butti Al Muhairi
Global rank: 1,818
Net worth: $1.2 billion
Net worth in 2018: $1.5 billion
Source: Hospitals, investments
Last year’s rank: #7
Rs5 to Dh300 million: Expat Ram Buxani’s Dubai story
See how this Indian expat’s growth mirrored that of Dubai’s

Highlights
- At 18, with five rupees in hand Indian Ram Buxani came to Dubai in a boat for a job as office assistant
- Today, Buxani is a veteran entrepreneur and chairman of a 60-year-old business conglomerate ITL Cosmos Group
- His personal net worth is estimated at around Dh300 million ($81 million)
- Forbes Middle East picked him as top Indian leader for 2014, 2016 and 2017
At 18, with five rupees in his pocket and the courage of a lion, Indian Ram Buxani left his home to work in Dubai.
It was 1959, when the city was part of the Trucial States which comprised of a group of tribal confederations that were signatories to treaties with the British Government.
“When I told my brother I was leaving home, he thought I was crazy. My mother was worried about my safety and future. But I was not discouraged.”
Today Ram Buxani is a popular Indian businessman, a veteran entrepreneur and chairman of a 60-year-old business conglomerate ITL Cosmos Group. He is said to be an international trade finance expert with six decades of experience behind him.
His estimated personal net worth is more than Dh300 million or $81 million. The company ITL is estimated to be worth $250 million or Dh920 million.
Listed on Forbes ME
Forbes Middle East picked him as one of the top Indian leaders of Middle East for 2014, 2016 and 2017 he was also awarded the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ in 2017.

Buxani came in a boat from Bombay. “There was no airport in Dubai,” he said.
It took him five days to reach Dubai’s shore. There were four stops enroute: Karachi, Muscat, Sharjah and Dubai.
It was the month of November and Buxani said it was raining intermittently during the journey.
“The water was choppy and the boat was swaying quite a bit. At one point my heart was in my mouth as I don’t know how to swim, but I managed to sail through it all and quite literally so.”
When the boat reached Karachi, Buxani was a bit nostalgic. “I was born here and after the Partition of India my parents left the city to live in Baroda, India. I never imagined I would visit Pakistan. It was a sweet moment.
“I wanted to get out of the boat and set foot on the land where I was born, but I had five rupees in my pocket and there was only little I could do with the money. So I stood and watched the city from afar,” he said.

Five days later, the boat finally reached Dubai, but stopped mid-stream. “There was no port in Dubai. So we were transported to another boat which took us to the shore,” explained Buxani.
A small customs house had an immigration officer who took everybody’s passports. “He said he would stamp the visa and return our passports [the] next day. I gave my office address and it was delivered there.”
Buxani’s visa (his first foreign visa) was issued by the United Kingdom High Commission in Bombay — as Dubai was then part of the Trucial States.
The visa (a copy of which is available with Gulf News) was issued for a period of one year.

That feeling of being in a foreign land — and loving it
Buxani said it was drizzling when he stepped out of the boat and the fragrance of the sand and the land was unmistakeable. “It was overpowering to say the least and I knew immediately that I wanted to live here.”
A company staff picked him from the customs house and took him to the office.
“Dubai was a small place and I saw the entire city in half an hour. Everyone knew everyone here. In fact the moment I stepped out of my boat, people already had a whiff that someone called Ram Buxani had arrived from Bombay.”
Back in the days the late Shaikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, father of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, would sit in the customs house himself to monitor people arriving in the city. He would begin his day as early as 5am and take a tour of the city in an open jeep and return to his Majlis by 6.30pm. He had an open-door policy and anybody could visit him in his Majlis to discuss any issue.

The first night in Dubai
“I was invited for dinner!, a concept I was not familiar with back home. It was a stag do. There were ten people in the party. The host made a big bowl of mutton curry and ordered naan (kubz or flat bread) from the Iranian shop next door. We all shared the curry from the same bowl. We took a piece of the naan and dipped it into the curry, also taking a slice of meat with it. There was no concept of eating from a plate and I was told this improved brotherhood and love amongst each other.”

Buxani said he did not have a problem sharing food with others. “Sindhis have a variable personality. We melt into a culture just like sugar dissolves in milk,” he said.
Notably, the Sindhi community in India largely comprises of entrepreneurs.
“So this was my first night in Dubai – a foreign land, away from home. And I did not miss it one bit – all thanks to such a warm welcome I received from people around me.
Electricity an alien concept in Dubai
“There was limited electricity in Dubai in 1959. So forget air-conditioners, fridge or any fancy lights. Everyone had a kerosene lamp at home and a hand fan. Nobody complained of the heat, it was just a way of life.
“At 6pm a policeman would come knocking on the doors of establishments to ensure everyone had left the premises. The city would sleep by 6.30pm. Something unimaginable about Dubai [now].”
In 1958, a company, Indo Arab Electricity Co with five shareholders was formed to provide electricity in the city. One of the shareholders was Buxani’s company International Traders (Middle East) Ltd.
It was however, a couple of years before electricity became available in the city.
First salary
Buxani came on a salary of Rs.125 per month. The Indian rupee was the currency used back then. The perks included food, accommodation, one hair-cut and two movie tickets in a month, and guess what – a shaving allowance too! The shaving allowance took care of the cost of razor blades, shaving cream and an after-shave lotion.
“So this meant – there was practically no personal expense for me. From my salary I sent home Rs.75 every month for my mother’s living expenses. Some of it also went for my younger brother’s education. Rest I kept for my personal expenses. Life was simple for sure,” recalled Buxani.
First milestone
Three years into the job, Buxani was offered a raise in his company. His employer offered him two options – one, a raise in his salary to Rs.400. The second option was a raise in salary to Rs.300 plus a profit share in the company. He took the latter.
This, he says, was a turning point in his life.
“I was 21 and yearning to achieve a lot in life. An opportunity had fallen on my lap and I did not want to say no.”
“Back then we used to get a lot of product samples for brands my company was selling. Usually the brokers brought the business for us. But I wanted to do it myself. One day I asked my senior if I could take the samples and go to the market to find clients. He discouraged me. One day when he was not around in the office, I sneaked into his room and picked up the samples lying in his chest of drawers. I took an abra and crossed the creek to sell the samples which were ashtrays, cigarette cases and lighters.”

The abra fare was one anna (1/16th of a rupee) for each trip. A private boat costed four annas.
“I found a customer and he booked products worth $125 with me. It was a massive amount of money. His name was Moosaji Karimji and it was uncanny that I bumped into him last week in Deira.”
“When I came back to the office, my senior asked me where I had gone. I told him the truth and showed him the money I received from the client. He was happy.”

The Business Mantra
Buxani’s story is truly one of a rags-to-riches story. From an office assistant of a company to becoming a prime share holder in the same company can be considered quite remarkable.
“If I had to attribute anything to my success it would be destiny and the love of people from Dubai. From a business perspective, one should always accept challenges. It is never about being profit oriented. Honesty is essential. Change is imperative. Embrace it and learn to survive after the change. If you change with the change, you succeed. If you cause the change – then you lead.”
“My other partners wanted to give up their share as they were in need of money or just wanted to divest. I kept buying their shares as I had faith in my business and what I could bring to the table. I was one of the people who survived the storm and I am still at the helm of it all,” said Buxani, a former Chairman of the Board of the Indian High School, Dubai.

Tasting success
The ITL Group, which he runs and manages till today, also built its business-base from humble beginnings. Initially, textiles was the principal trade of the company. With the oil boom and the socio-economic prosperity in Dubai, the company also prospered and ventured into other businesses like consumer electronics. In fact ITL Group was one of the companies to do so in the region back in the 70s and 80s through its subsidiary Cosmos. In fact a new Cosmos era started around this time and even today a lane in Meena Bazaar is famously called as the Cosmos lane.
Buxani’s growth has mirrored that of Dubai and as he says, this city will always be his first love and home.

Dubai billionaire, founder of Damac plans to invest $1.3 billion in London
Developer looking to take advantage of weak pound

Dubai: Damac Properties plans to take advantage of the weak pound to invest as much as £1 billion (Dh4.79 billion or $1.3 billion) in London’s real estate market.
Chairman Hussain Sajwani said the Dubai-based property developer is looking at deals with values from £500 million to £1 billion in central London.
Even if the UK left the European Union without a trade deal, which some analysts predict would result in sharp drops in the pound and asset values, Sajwani said he would still invest. Damac has more than $1.6 billion in cash, he added.
“If it was a hard Brexit there will be more opportunities and we would be looking to take advantage of that,” Sajwani said in a Bloomberg TV interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday. “London is London and you buy when there is blood on the street.”
Damac, facing a tough real estate market in Dubai, is looking to trim costs and pay down debt of around $500 million by the end of this year, Sajwani said. The developer is also focusing on international acquisitions as a recovery in Dubai may not materialise before the end of 2020, he said.
Dubai residential property prices dropped 6.9 per cent on average in 2018 while rental values fell 7.9 per cent, according to property advisory firm Cavendish Maxwell. The city is suffering from a glut of properties being completed at a time when the weak jobs market is curbing demand.
“I hope by the end of 2020, after the Expo, the market starts recovering,” Sajwani said. “Naturally prices have come down and sales have come down” but a total of about Dh20 billion ($5.4 billion) of property sales in Dubai last year is encouraging, he said.
Damac’s stock slumped 54 per cent last year along with other developers such as Emaar Properties PJSC, which dropped 40.5 per cent during the same period. Both fared far worse than Dubai’s main benchmark.
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