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Prince Alwaleed Rises to 19 in Forbes Rich List
Kingdom Holding chairman Prince Alwaleed has risen three places in the Forbes Rich List, published on Thursday.
Saudi Arabia’s richest man was ranked 19th in the 2010 list with a fortune of $19.4bn, more than $6bn better off than the previous year.
Also in the top 100 of the list were Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed Al Amoudi (64th – $10bn), Kuwait’s Nasser Al Kharafi and family (77th – $8.7bn) and Mohammed Bin Issa Al Jaber, of Saudi Arabia (93rd – $7.5bn).
In total, the Middle East and Africa have 65 billionaires with a fortune of $181 billion, up from 58 last year worth $156 billion, Forbes said.
Prince Alwaleed, who topped the Arabian Business Rich List published in December, was the top ranking person from the Middle East region.
For the third time in three years, there was a new man at the top of the Forbes Rich List as Mexican tycoon Carlo Slim Helu beat Americans Bill Gates and Warren Buffett to become the wealthiest person on earth.
Slim’s fortune has swelled to an estimated $53.5 billion, up $18.5 billion in 12 months. Shares of America Movil, of which Slim owns a $23 billion stake, were up 35 percent in a year.
In December, Arabian Business calculated Prince Alwaleed’s fortune at $18bn, almost a billion dollars more than a year previously but Forbes estimates that the Saudi businessman has since added another $1.4bn to his empire.
According to the Arabian Business calculation, outside the publicly quoted Kingdom Holding, Prince Alwaleed’s wealth is broken into four other areas: major companies outside KHC, which last year were valued at $.56bn and an engineering consultancy worth close to $12m.
Then the real estate owned by Prince Alwaleed, valued at $3.18bn. Fourth, other major assets valued at $1.7bn. A large chunk of this — $822m — is the value of his transportation assets, including the world’s first private A380 ‘superjumbo’, dubbed the ‘Flying Palace’.
The rest is made up by his jewellery collection, his investment in a French port and his stakes in Lebanese and Palestinian companies.
Forbes Rich List at a glance:
There are 1,011 billionaires around the world in 2010, up from 793 last year. Of those 89 are women, up from 72 in 2009.
There were 611 billionaires who increased their wealth in the past year. The fortunes of 62 fell, while 77 stayed even.
There are 403 billionaires in the United States with a net worth of $1.3 trillion; this is up from 359 in 2009 and a value of $1.1 trillion.
There are 248 billionaires in Europe with a net worth of $1 trillion, up from 196 billionaires last year with a fortune of $665 billion.
In the Asia-Pacific region there are 234 billionaires worth $729 billion, compared with 130 billionaires in 2009 valued at $357 billion.
The Middle East and Africa have 65 billionaires with a fortune of $181 billion, up from 58 last year worth $156 billion.
The Americas (excluding the United States) accounts for 61 billionaires with a net worth of $304 billion, compared with 50 billionaires last year valued at $175 billion.
Andy Sambidge
Arabian Business.com