Dubai property mogul Hussain Sajwani has topped the 2022 list of Forbes richest people in the UAE for the first time after he added $300 million to his fortune. He founded the company, DAMAC properties in 2002, comes with a net worth of $2.7 billion, and has moved two places up in the UAE. Overall, he ranks sixth in the whole of the Middle East region.
He started out his business in food catering to the US military and construction giant Bechtel. According to Forbes, he is also known for extravagant marketing, sometimes even offering free Lamborghinis to apartment buyers. He also has co-branding deals with Versace and Bugatti.
The first position was previously taken by Majid Al Futtaim, who passed away last year.
Two other Emirati billionaires have also made it to the Forbes 2022 list. Mashreqbank founder Abdulla bin Ahmad Al Ghurair and family came second in the UAE and 7th in the Middle East with a cash flow of $2.6 bn.
Abdulla Al Futtaim and family with a cash flow of $2.5 bn came third and eighth in the Middle East region.
The total number of billionaires fell from 2,755 to 2,668 because of the pandemic.