Gulf Business Features People from UAE in its Most Powerful Arabs List

Gulf Business has created a list of the '100 Most Powerful Arabs 2023' featuring Arabs from all over the Arab world who have contributed extensively in various fields such as business, sports, entertainment, and many other fields. The list featured 48 people from the UAE including locals and residents, which included Emirati astronaut Dr. Sultan Al Neyadi and popular social media influencers Khaled Al Ameri and Salama Mohamed.

Here are the People from the UAE in the 100 Most Powerful Arabs 2023 list:

1. Dr. Sultan Al Jaber

Country of Origin: UAE

Country of Residence UAE

Ranking: 2nd

Dr. Al Jaber is the Managing Director and Group CEO of ADNOC. Under his management, ADNOC announced the discovery of off-shore natural gas resources, signed contracts to expand production capacity, and sent its first shipment of low-carbon ammonia in 2022. 

2. HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum

Country of Origin: UAE

Country of Residence: UAE

Ranking: 3rd

Sheikh Ahmed is Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Group and Chairman of Emirates NBD. Under his leadership, Emirates had a half-year net profit of $1.2 billion in FY 2022-2023 and the group also achieved other milestones. Under his management, Emirates NBD has a 40% increase in net profit in 2022. 

3. Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak

Country of Origin: UAE

Country of Residence: UAE

Ranking: 5th

Al Mubarak is the Managing Director and Group CEO of Mubadala Investment Company. The company acquired a stake in the world’s largest private offshore wind developer Skyborn Renewables in 2022. In February 2023, the company signed an agreement with Oman and Etihad Rail Company to build a 303 km railway network connecting the UAE with Oman.

4. Mohamed Alabbar

Country of Origin: UAE

Country of Residence: UAE

Ranking: 8th

Alabbar is the founder of Emaar and Noon.com. Under Alabbar's management, Emaar group property sales stood at $9.5 billion and its net profit rose 80% year-on-year to reach $ 1.9 billion in 2022. Alabbar also received $900 million from Americana’s IPO in December 2022 and his remaining stake is now valued at $1.98 billion.

5. Mohamed Al Hammadi

Country of Origin: UAE

Country of Residence: UAE

Ranking: 10th

Al Hammadi is the Managing Director and CEO of the Emirates Nuclear Energy Cooperation (ENEC). ENEC started the operation of unit 3 of the Al Barakah plant in February 2023, which has added 1,400 MW of clean energy to the national grid. The Barakah plant is the first peaceful nuclear energy plant that has been developed in the Arab world. 

6. Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem

Country of Origin: UAE

Country of Residence: UAE

Ranking: 11th

Sulayem is the Group Chairman and CEO of DP World. Sulayem announced in November 2022 that DP World would invest $500 million to cut carbon emissions from its operations in the next five years. 

7. Sarah bint Yousif Al Amiri

Country of Origin: UAE

Country of Residence: UAE

Ranking: 12th

Al Amiri is the Chairwoman of the UAE Space Agency. As Chairwoman of this agency, Al Amiri signed an MoU with the Philippine Space Agency to improve collaborations in space exploration and scientific research in 2022. Under her management, the agency also signed an agreement with Bayanat to create a geospatial analytics platform for the space data centre.

8. Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair

Country of Origin: UAE

Country of Residence: UAE

Ranking: 14th

Al Ghurair is the Chairman of Mashreq. The bank reported a $1 billion net profit and an operating profit of $ 1.19 billion in 2022. Mashreq also became the first regional bank sponsor for the Argentinian national football team in the Middle East and Egypt in December 2022. 

9. Hana Al Rostamani  

Country of Origin: UAE

Country of Residence: UAE

Ranking: 16th

Al Rostamani is the Group CEO of the First Abu Dhabi Bank. The bank had a group net profit of  $3.64 billion in 2022 and total assets topping to $302 billion at the end of December 2022. 

10. Mohammed Ibrahim Al Shaibani

Country of Origin: UAE

Country of Residence: UAE

Ranking: 17th

Al Shaibani is the Managing Director at the Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD).  ICD generated revenue of $32.9 billion in the first half of 2022 during Al Shabaini's management.

11. Salem Humaid Al Marri

Country of Origin: UAE

Country of Residence: UAE

Ranking: 18th

Al-Marri is the Director General of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre. Under Al Marri's leadership, the MBRSC launched Zayed Ambition 2 – the longest Arab space mission in history – with Emirati astronaut Sultan AlNeyadi in March 2023.

12. Essa Kazim

Country of Origin: UAE

Country of Residence: UAE

Ranking: 20th

Kazim is the Governor of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). In 2022, DIFC reported its highest-ever revenue of $288 million in 2022 under the leadership of Kazim. 

13. Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak

Country of Origin: UAE

Country of Residence: UAE

Ranking: 21st 

Al Mubarak is the Chairman of the Department of Culture and Tourism in Abu Dhabi and he is also the Chairman of Aldar Properties. Under his management, Aldar Properties had a net profit of $840 million in 2022. 

14. Dr. Raja Easa Al Gurg

Country of Origin: UAE

Country of Residence: UAE

Ranking: 27th

Dr. Al Gurg is the Chairwoman and Managing Director of Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group. The group manages 27 companies and the group has interests in real estate, construction, and retail.

15. Reem Al Hashimy

Country of Origin: UAE

Country of Residence: UAE

Ranking: 28th

Al Hashimy is the CEO of the Expo City Dubai Authority. Expo City sold two residential communities in March 2023 and the completion of these projects is scheduled for January 2026. 

16. Dr. Sultan Al Neyadi

Country of Origin: UAE

Country of Residence: UAE

Ranking: 31st

Dr. Sultan Al Neyadi is the second Emirati astronaut from the UAE to travel to space for the first longest space mission in the Arab World. He reached the International Space Station (ISS) in March 2023 and he became the first Arab to perform a spacewalk in April 2023. 

17. Helal Al Marri

Country of Origin: UAE

Country of Residence: UAE

Ranking: 32nd

Al-Marri is the Director General of Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism. Under Al Marri's management, the Department of Tourism welcomed 14.36 million international tourists to Dubai in 2022. He also oversaw the opening of the Museum of the Future. 

18. Elie Habib and Eddy Maroun

Country of Origin: Lebanon

Country of Residence: UAE

Ranking: 34th

Habib and Maroun are the co-founders of Anghami. They had 1.52 million paying subscribers and $48.1 million in unaudited revenue in 2022. 

19. Khalaf Al Habtoor

Country of Origin: UAE

Country of Residence: UAE

Ranking: 37th

Al Habtoor is the Founding Chairman of Al Habtoor Group (AHG). Al Habtoor revealed plans for the company's three mega residential cities in Al Habtoor City in 2022. AHG also partnered with SirajPower in March 2023 to provide large-scale solar installations. 

20. Mohamed Ali Al Shorafa Al Hammadi

Country of Origin: UAE

Country of Residence: UAE

Ranking: 40th

Al Hammadi is the Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED). Under Al Hammadi's leadership, ADDED launched Abu Dhabi SME Champion in February 2023 and supported an ‘Abu Dhabi SME Hub’.

21. Faisal Al Bannai

Country of Origin: UAE

Country of Residence: UAE

Ranking: 45th

Al Bannai is the Chairman of EDGE Group. Under Al Bannai's management, the group signed deals worth AED 18.6 billion in November 2022. 

22. Hatem Dowidar

Country of Origin: Egypt

Country of Residence: UAE

Ranking: 46th

Dowidar is the CEO of e& Group. The company's full-year net profit hit AED 10 billion in 2022 during Dowidar's management. 

23. Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi

Country of Origin: UAE

Country of Residence: UAE

Ranking: 47th

Al Shamisi is the Managing Director and CEO of AD Ports Group, which generated full-year revenues of $1.5 billion in 2022. 

24. Jassim Alseddiqi

Country of Origin: UAE

Country of Residence: UAE

Ranking: 55th

Alseddiqi is the Board Managing Director of SHUAA Capital. Under his management, SHUAA closed several transactions in 2022; it acquired a controlling stake in Souqalmal and listed a $100m SPAC on Nasdaq.

25. Mohammad A Baker

Country of Origin: UAE

Country of Residence: UAE

Ranking: 57th

Baker is the Deputy Chairman and CEO of GMG. Under Baker's leadership, the conglomerate plans to open 100 sports retail stores in Egypt by 2026 and 100 stores in Southeast Asia by 2025.

26. Mohammad Ali bin Rashed Lootah

Country of Origin: UAE

Country of Residence: UAE

Ranking: 58th

Lootah is the President and CEO of Dubai Chambers, which has launched 29 new business groups under Lootah's leadership. 

27. Ala’a Eraiqat

Country of Origin: UAE

Country of Residence: UAE

Ranking: 59th

Eraiqat is the Group CEO of the Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, which reported a full-year net profit of AED 6.434 billion for 2022.

28. Issam Kazim

Country of Origin: UAE

Country of Residence: UAE

Ranking: 60th

Kazim is the CEO of the Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing, which welcomed 14.36 million international visitors to the UAE in 2022 under Kazim's management. 

30. Abdulla Jassem Kalban

Country of Origin: UAE

Country of Residence: UAE

Ranking: 63rd

Kalban is the Managing Director of Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), which reported a net profit of $2 billion in 2022 during Kalban's management. 

31. Mona Ataya

Country of Origin: Palestine

Country of Residence: UAE

Ranking: 64th

Ataya is the Founder and CEO of Mumzworld, which provides 350,000 products from 6,500 global brands, serving 2.5 million customers. 

32. Ghaith Al Ghaith

Country of Origin: UAE

Country of Residence: UAE

Ranking: 65th

Al Gaith is the CEO of flydubai, which had  $327 million in net profit in 2022. 

33. Hesham Al Qassim

Country of Origin: UAE

Country of Residence: UAE

Ranking: 67th

Al Qassim is the CEO, wasl Asset Management, which sealed 122,658 real estate transactions in Dubai at the value of AED 528 billion. 

34. Sheikh Abdullah bin Bayyah

Country of Origin: Mauritania

Country of Residence: UAE

Ranking: 68th

Sheikh Abdullah is the Chairman of the UAE Fatwa Council. He has promoted peace and interfaith dialogue, which he is immensely respected for. 

35. Badr Jafar

Country of Origin: Mauritania

Country of Residence: UAE

Ranking: 69th

Jafar is the CEO of Crescent Enterprises, which contributes to sectors ranging from ports and logistics, power and engineering, food and beverage to business aviation.

36. Mishal Kanoo

Country of Origin: Bahrain/UAE

Country of Residence: UAE

Ranking: 70th

Kanoo is the Chairman of The Kanoo Group, which contributes to various sectors including shipping, travel, energy, real estate, logistics, speciality chemicals, and others.

37. Khaled Mohammed Balama

Country of Origin: UAE

Country of Residence: UAE

Ranking: 73rd

Balama is the Governor of the Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE), which has announced various initiatives to sustain the UAE’s monetary and financial stability under Balama's leadership. 

38. Fadi Ghandour

Country of Origin: Jordan

Country of Residence: UAE

Ranking: 74th

Ghandour is the Executive Chairman of WAMDA and Co-Founder of Aramex. Under his leadership, Aramex had a strong cash balance of $209 million in 2022. 

39. Dr. Amina Al Rostamani

Country of Origin: UAE

Country of Residence: UAE

Ranking: 78th

Dr. Al Rostamani is the COO of the AW Rostamani Group. She has been a significant contributor in steering the group's interests in automobiles, logistics, and travel sectors.

40. Ronaldo Mouchawar

Country of Origin: Syria

Country of Residence: UAE

Ranking: 80th

Mouchawar is the Co-Founder of Souq.com and the Vice President of Amazon MENA. In 2023, Amazon MENA announced that it would sell products from 100,000 businesses, including local SMBs, on its UAE website by 2026.

41. Hussain Sajwani

Country of Origin: UAE

Country of Residence: UAE

Ranking: 81st

Sajwani is the Founder and Chairman of the Damac Properties. In 2022, the company launched its D-Labs division where the company plans to invest $100m to build digital cities.

42. Juma Al Majid

Country of Origin: UAE

Country of Residence: UAE

Ranking: 86th

Al Majid is the Founder of the Juma Al Majid Group, which has verticals in real estate, travel and tourism, investments, automobiles, contracting and commercial, and other fields. 

43. Lana Nusseibeh

Country of Origin: UAE

Country of Residence: UAE

Ranking: 87th

Nusseibah is the UAE Ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations. Nusseibah steered the launch of the Arab Women Military and Peacekeeping Programme in the UAE in 2019.

44. Zaid S Al Khayyat

Country of Origin: UAE

Country of Residence: UAE

Ranking: 89th

Al Khayyat is the Managing Director of Al Khayyat Investments, who is driving regional investment as a trusted business partner for local and global corporations.

45. Huda Kattan

Country of Origin: Iraq/US

Country of Residence: UAE

Ranking: 90th

Kattan is the Founder of Huda Beauty, which is a globally renowned beauty brand boasting makeup, skincare, and perfume lines.

46. Khalid Al Ameri and Salama Mohamed

Country of Origin: UAE

Country of Residence: UAE

Ranking: 91st

Khalid Al Ameri and Salama Mohamed are social media influencers and are the UAE's favourite Emirati couple who have millions of social media followers. 

47. Raed Barqawi

Country of Origin: UAE

Country of Residence: UAE

Ranking: 98th

Barqawi is the Executive editor-in-chief at Al Khaleej who has recorded the development of the UAE for over three decades with this Emirati newspaper. 

48. Nayla Al Baloushi

Country of Origin: UAE

Country of Residence: UAE

Ranking: 100th

Al Baloushi is an Emirati mountaineer who became the first Emirati woman to summit Mount Everest in 2022.