The Richest Arabs in 2023: Egypt and Lebanon Still Have the Most Billionaires in the Region

It is not too late to share the list of the Forbes World's Richest Arabs and subsequently the Richest Egyptians. Inshallah, I am planning to make it an annual tradition for Egyptian Chronicles.

The Arabic edition of the famous magazine published this list in April, and I'd like to share it with you now.

I must mention that Forbes Middle East has not included Saudi billionaires on its list since 2018. The list is based on published information and assets.

Egypt's richest men from left to right: Nassef Sawiris, Mohamed Mansour,
Naguib Sawiris, Mohamed El-Fayed, Youssef Mansour and Yasseen Mansour

As Arabs, we are aware that there is another unofficial list of the Richest Arabs whose fortunes remain secret and unknown. This secret list includes Arab rulers, except for the Lebanese ruling class because we have figures like Mikatis and Hariris who have their own business empires.

Now, let's turn our attention to this year's list. According to Forbes' World's Billionaires 2023 ranking, there are 2,640 people featured, down from 2,668 in 2022. Collectively, billionaires are now worth US $12.2 trillion—US $500 billion less than in March last year—and believe it or not, nearly half of them are poorer than they were in 2022.

In an interesting twist, for the second year in a row, Egypt and Lebanon have the highest number of billionaires in the region, with six entries each. It's worth noting that we have the same individuals as last year, but their rankings have changed.

According to Forbes, Nassef Sawiris of Egypt retains his position as the richest Arab and Egyptian in the world, with a net worth of US $7.4 billion. He also ranks as the fifth richest African. This year, his global rank is 305th, slightly lower than his position in 2022 when he was ranked 304th.

The drop in Nassef Sawiris' global ranking is due to a decrease of US $300 million in his wealth compared to 2022.

One of his most valuable assets is his nearly 6% stake in Adidas. It was not widely known that Nassef owned stakes in Adidas until the infamous dispute between Kanye West and the sportswear brand, during which the Egyptian billionaire's photo was published on Kanye West's Instagram for a whole day.

As a real estate and tourism developer who also owns Aston Villa FC in the Premier League, Nassef Sawiris stated in an interview with CNBC Arabia that Egypt's investment climate faces challenges that cannot be resolved by mere promises.

Despite describing the investment climate as great, he acknowledged that the current economic situation in Egypt is difficult.

The second richest Egyptian in the world, Mohamed Mansour, replaced Naguib Sawiris in last year's Forbes list.

The senior treasurer of the UK's Conservative Party now ranks as the fourth richest Arab and the eighth richest African in the world. Mansour also climbed the global richest men ranking from 1,238 in 2022 to 787 this year, as his net worth increased by US $1.1 billion, reaching US $3.6 billion.

In May, Mohamed Mansour made headlines by acquiring the San Diego MLS in the United States for US $500 million.

Naguib Sawiris, the favourite billionaire of the Egyptian Twittersphere, ranks as the third richest Egyptian according to Forbes. He traded places with Mohamed Mansour in the Forbes list of richest Arabs and now stands as the fifth richest Arab.

Naguib also slipped in the Forbes Richest Africans ranking, becoming the ninth richest African. His net worth dropped by US $100 million this year, amounting to US $3.3 billion compared to last year's US $3.4 billion. Nevertheless, he rose to the 878th position in the global richest men ranking for 2023, up from 883rd in 2022.

As the third richest Egyptian, Naguib Sawiris feels comfortable expressing his controversial and oppositional political views on Twitter. He openly criticizes the military rule that began in 1952, despite praising Chile's infamous dictator, Augusto Pinochet, for his association with the "Chicago Boys."

The fourth richest Egyptian, the seasoned tycoon Mohamed El-Fayed, maintains his position on the Forbes list. He is the oldest richest Egyptian and the 12th richest man in the Arab world.

El-Fayed, who gained recognition among a new generation of Egyptians through Netflix's fourth season of "The Crown," experienced a loss of approximately US $100 million in 2023, reducing his net worth to US $2 billion from US $2.1 billion in 2022.

He dropped from the 1,445th to the 1,516th position in the Forbes global richest men ranking. Curiously, he is not included in the official Forbes Richest Africans 2023 list, but based on my estimation, he ranks as the 12th richest individual in Africa.

According to Forbes, the fifth richest Egyptian is Youssef Mansour, the eldest brother of Mohamed Mansour. In 2023, he ranks as the 13th richest African and the 14th richest Arab.

Despite his net worth of US $1.5 billion remaining unchanged in 2023, he climbed in both the Arab richest men ranking, moving from 15th to 14th place, and the global ranking, advancing from 1,929th to 1,905th place.

Yasseen Mansour, the youngest brother of Youssef and Mohamed Mansour, is the sixth richest Egyptian according to Forbes. He rose from the 21st richest Arab in 2022 to the 18th richest Arab in 2023. He also improved his position in the richest African Forbes ranking, reaching 16th place.

Yasseen Mansour's net worth increased by US $200 million to reach US $1.3 billion in 2023, up from US $1.1 billion.

As you can see, there have been no changes in the faces of the richest Egyptians, only in their net worth. Family dominance continues to prevail in the list, with two Sawiris brothers, three Mansour brothers, and Mohamed Al-Fayed.

The combined net worth of the six Egyptian billionaires amounts to $19.1 billion, out of a population of 105 million Egyptians. Their net worth in 2023 reached US $19.1 billion, compared to US $18.3 billion in 2022.

Similarly, to last year, Lebanon has two Mikatis billionaires on the list, including current Prime Minister Najib Mikati and his brother Taha Mikati, who dropped from fourth place to seventh place.

Bahaa El-Hariri maintained his 11th place, and renowned jeweller Robert Mouawad rose from 15th place to 14th place in 2023.

The younger El-Hariri brothers also feature on the list: Ayman El-Hariri remains in 17th place in 2023, while Fahd El-Hariri dropped from 19th to 20th place.

Once again, we see the Lebanese billionaires in the same order as last year. Family wealth remains a prominent theme, with two Mikati brothers, three Hariris, and one Mouawad. The six Lebanese individuals have a combined net worth of $11.8 billion.

In some strange coincidence that is classified under a black comedy, we find out that one of the main presidential candidates in Lebanon right now is an economist and International Monetary Fund “IMF” official Jihad Azour was responsible for Egypt’s file as he was the director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the Fund till very short time.

Henley and Partners’ World wealthiest cities Report 2023

Henley & Partners, a global citizenship planning consultancy, ranks Cairo as the 70th city worldwide, the second city in Africa, and the fifth city with the highest number of millionaires who possess investable assets of US $1 million or more in 2023.

Additionally, Cairo ranks 63rd globally, second in Africa, and fifth in the Arab region for the highest number of centimillionaires, with investable assets of US $100 million or more.

Moreover, Cairo ranks 54th internationally, first in Africa, and third in the Arab region for the highest number of billionaires, with investable assets of US $1 billion or more in 2023.

According to Henley, Cairo is home to 7,400 high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs), commonly known as millionaires, with investable assets of US $1 million or more.

Among them are 27 centimillionaires, with investable assets of US $100 million or more, and 5 billionaires, with investable assets of US $1 billion or more.

It can be inferred that the five billionaires are likely the Sawiris brothers and the Mansour brothers.

Notably, the rate of HNWIs in Cairo has decreased by 25% over the past ten years, as indicated by the Henley index from 2012 to 2022.

In early June, Egypt’s population reached 105 million where nearly the third of the population lives in poverty according to official statistics and statements. I do not need to speak about a gap here because it is not a gap, it is a black hole.