The Richest Arabs in 2025: Saudis are back but Egyptians are still there

Once again, this post should have been published earlier. I had intended to make it an Egyptian Chronicles year-end tradition: The Richest Arabs in 2025, according to Forbes.

As an annual disclaimer, Arabs and Egyptians alike are well aware that there is another, unofficial list of the richest Arabs—those whose fortunes remain largely secret and unknown.

This year marked a major shift, as Forbes included Saudi billionaires on its list for the first time since 2018.

Fifteen Saudi billionaires made the ranking, 14 of them new entrants, largely due to their stakes in companies listed on the Saudi Exchange, which has seen a surge in IPOs in the post-COVID period.

Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud returned to the top of the list as the richest Arab in the world, with an estimated net worth of $16.5 billion.

He currently ranks No.162 globally on Forbes’ real-time billionaires list, after reaching No. 128 in May.

Saudi Arabia now has the highest number of Arab billionaires, with 15 individuals worth a combined $55.8 billion.

Lebanon follows with six billionaires worth $12.3 billion, while the UAE and Egypt each have five billionaires, with total fortunes of $24.3 billion and $20.6 billion, respectively.

According to Forbes’ World Billionaires 2025 list, the number of billionaires worldwide exceeded 3,000 for the first time, with 3,028 individuals making this year’s ranking—247 more than in 2024. Not only are there more billionaires, but they are also richer than ever, with a combined net worth of $16.1 trillion, nearly $2 trillion more than in 2024.

This trend is also evident in Africa, where the cumulative wealth of the continent’s billionaires surpassed $100 billion for the first time. Africa’s 22 billionaires saw their combined fortunes rise to $105 billion, up from $82.4 billion and 20 billionaires last year.

Published in May, here is Forbes 2025 World's Richest Arabs and Africans aka billionaires subsequently the Richest Egyptians.

According to Forbes, Nassef Sawiris of Egypt is still maintaining his position as the richest Egyptian in the world and the 4^th richest Arab, with a net worth of US $9.6 billion.

He still maintains his ranks as the fourth richest African.

Nassef Sawiris’s global rank in the Forbes World’s Billionaires list went down from 287^th in 2024 to 289^th in May 2025 and to 394^th in realtime.

Nassef Sawiris’s wealth has risen by $0.8 billion since 2024.

Nassef’s brother, Naguib Sawiris — the outspoken billionaire of the Egyptian Twittersphere, known for his fondness for militia leaders such as Sudan’s RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti) and Lebanon’s Samir Geagea — maintained his position as Egypt’s second-richest billionaire, with a net worth of US$5 billion.

In 2025, he climbed the regional rankings, becoming the fifth-richest Arab, up from eighth in 2024, according to Forbes, thanks to rising gold prices and his investments in gold mining.

Naguib Sawiris also continues to rank as Africa’s seventh-richest billionaire.

Globally, he rose from 835th place in 2024 to 717th in May 2025, before slipping again to 805th in Forbes’ real-time rankings in December 2025.

These changes reflect the increase in his net worth from US$3.8 billion to US$5 billion.

In third place comes Sir Mohamed Mansour, the senior treasurer of the UK's Conservative Party as the richest Egyptian billionaire alive.

Mansour is the 12^th richest Arab dropping from the tenth-place dropping from fourth place last year.

He maintained his eighth-place on the Forbes’ Africa billionaires.

However, his global ranking dropped from 991st in 2024 to 1072^nd in May 2025 before dropping to 1216 Forbes’ real-time rankings in December 2025.

Mohmed Mansour’s net worth also increased from $3.3 billion to $3.4 billion.

In third place is Sir Mohamed Mansour, the senior treasurer of the UK’s Conservative Party.

Mansour ranks as the twelfth richest Arab, down from tenth last year, and maintains his eighth-place spot on Forbes’ Africa billionaires list.

Globally, his ranking fell from 991st in 2024 to 1,072nd in May 2025, and then to 1,216th in Forbes’ real-time rankings in December 2025.

Despite the ranking shifts, Mansour’s net worth rose slightly, from US$3.3 billion to US$3.4 billion.

Sir Mohamed Mansour made headlines last week when it was officially announced that not only he returned his residency to Egypt from the UK but also the headquarters of Mansour Group to Cairo in late 2025, ending his London chapter after living there since at least 2016 due to UK tax changes.

Mansour’s long stay in the UK was partly influenced by changes in British tax policy. Reforms introduced in the mid-2010s made the UK less favorable for high-net-worth individuals seeking to minimize tax liabilities, prompting many business leaders, including Mansour, to relocate abroad while maintaining UK residency for personal or business reasons.

He dropped from the 27^th place in 2024 to the 29^th place as the richest Arab billionaire and from 16th place to the 20^th place in the Forbes Africa’s billionaire lists

In the global billionaires ranking, Youssef Mansour dropped from 2,287th place in 2024 to 2356^th place in May 2025 and 2586^th place in Forbes’ real-time rankings in December 2025.

Despite dropping down in the ranks, Youssef Mansour’s net worth went up from $1.3 billion to $1.4 billion in 2025.

According to Forbes, the fourth-richest Egyptian billionaire is Youssef Mansour, the eldest brother of Mohamed Mansour.

He slipped from 27th place in 2024 to 29th among richest Arab billionaires in 2025 and from 16th to 20th on Forbes Africa’s billionaire list.

Globally, his ranking fell from 2,287th in 2024 to 2,356th in May 2025, and then to 2,586th in Forbes’ real-time rankings in December 2025.

Despite the drop in rankings, Youssef Mansour’s net worth rose slightly, from US$1.3 billion to US$1.4 billion in 2025.

Yasseen Mansour, the youngest brother of Youssef and Mohamed Mansour, remains the fifth-richest Egyptian worldwide, according to Forbes in 2025.

He slipped from 28th place in 2024 to 32nd in 2025 on the Forbes richest Arabs list. In Africa, he also fell, from 17th richest in 2024 to 21st in 2025.

Globally, Yasseen Mansour’s ranking dropped from 2,410th in 2024 to 2,623rd in May 2025, and then to 2,802nd in Forbes’ real-time rankings in December 2025.

Despite the drop in rankings, his net worth remained steady at US$1.2 billion, the same as in 2024.

Once again, the list of Egypt’s richest remains unchanged, with only net worth and rankings shifting.

Family dominance persists, with two Sawiris brothers and three Mansour brothers holding the same spots as last year and the year before.

The combined net worth of Egypt’s five richest billionaires rose from US$18.4 billion in 2024 to US$20.6 billion in 2025, while the country’s population increased from 105 million to 108 million in the same period.

Cairo Still Ranks Third in Africa for Number of Millionaires

Cairo remains the third-most-populous African city in terms of millionaires, behind Johannesburg and Cape Town, according to the Henley & Partners The Africa Wealth Report 2025.

The global firm, which specializes in residence and citizenship by investment, noted that Cairo’s high-net-worth individual (HNWI) population has declined slightly, from 7,200 in 2024 to 6,800 in 2025. The city also dropped from first in Africa with 30 centi-millionaires (US$100 million+) in 2024 to 29 in 2025.

Despite this, Cairo leads the continent with five billionaires in 2025, a number expected to rise to six with the return of Sir Mohamed Mansour.

The Africa Wealth Report 2025, released by Henley & Partners in August 2025, shows that Egypt remains the second-wealthiest country in Africa, though its millionaire population has contracted slightly due to long-term currency devaluation and inflation.

Egypt’s millionaire population fell by about 6% year-on-year, from 15,600 in 2024 to 14,800 in 2025. Over the past decade (2015–2025), the total number of millionaires in Egypt has dropped by 15%, largely due to depreciation of the Egyptian pound against the US dollar.

While Egypt has fewer “entry-level” millionaires than South Africa, it remains a powerhouse of ultra-high-net-worth wealth, with Cairo holding more billionaires (five) than any other African city.

Egypt is also firmly part of Africa’s “Big 5” wealth markets — alongside South Africa, Morocco, Nigeria, and Kenya — which together account for 90% of the continent’s billionaires.

The report estimates a net outflow of 100 millionaires from Egypt in 2025, as some HNWIs diversify their assets globally through residence-by-investment programs.