Royalty Rules On Wealth-X's Middle East Rich List

SINGAPORE, Aug. 6, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Prince Alwaleed bin Talal tops Wealth-X's Middle East Rich List with an estimated net worth of US$30 billion, ahead of his uncle, King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia, who has amassed a fortune of US$19.8 billion.

Prince Alwaleed, 59, is the CEO and founder of Kingdom Holding, an investment services company of which he has 95-percent control. Alwaleed is also Citigroup's largest individual shareholder and the second-largest voting shareholder in News Corporation after the Murdoch family, owns the Four Seasons Georges V Hotel in Paris (which he spent US$400 million to acquire and renovate) and part of New York's legendary Plaza Hotel, and holds major stakes in dozens of other Western companies through Kingdom Holding. Renowned for his business acumen, Alwaleed has been called the "Saudi Warren Buffett".

Below are the top 5 billionaires on the Wealth-X list:

The combined wealth of the top 10 Middle Eastern billionaires on the Wealth-X list released today is US$144.8 billion. Saudi Arabian tycoons claimed five of the top 10 spots, while four billionaires from the United Arab Emirates appear on the list.

There are 157 billionaires in the Middle East with a combined net worth of US$354 billion according to the Wealth-X and UBS Billionaire Census 2013. There are 64 Saudi-based billionaires with a total net worth US$204 billion, followed by United Arab Emirates (37; US$45 billion); and Israel (17; US$29 billion).

Download the complete list at http://www.wealthx.com/articles/2014/top-10-richest-individuals-in-the-middle-east​

About Wealth-X
Wealth-X is the world's leading ultra high net worth (UHNW) intelligence and prospecting firm with the largest collection of curated research on UHNW individuals, defined as those with net assets of US$30 million and above. Headquartered in Singapore, it has 13 offices on five continents. (www.wealthx.com)

SOURCE Wealth-X