Forbes Middle East Reveals The Top 100 Arab Family Businesses 2021

Press release

Published May 10th, 2021 - 07:37 GMT

Forbes Middle East Reveals The Top 100 Arab Family Businesses 2021

ForbesME Top100 Arab Family Businesses

Highlights

Forbes Middle East has unveiled its annual ranking of the Top 100 Arab Family Businesses for 2021, celebrating some of the Middle East's longest-standing business success stories.

Forbes Middle East has unveiled its annual ranking of the Top 100 Arab Family Businesses for 2021, celebrating some of the Middle East's longest-standing business success stories. The list recognizes many companies that have helped shape the region and handed down their legacies through generations.

Among the 100 listees, those headquartered in Saudi Arabia lead (36), followed by the U.A.E. (25) and Kuwait (7). Saudi's diversified Olayan Group leads the pack at the top spot. First founded by Suliman Olayan as a contracting and trading company, the conglomerate today has a diverse commercial, industrial, and investment portfolio. Egypt's Mansour Group and U.A.E.-based Majid Al Futtaim round up the top three.

Diversified business corporations – groups that invest in various sectors and geographies – dominate the ranking with 87 entries. Saudi-headquartered Assila Investments is the only non-diversified group in the top 10. Assila Investments is also the ranking's youngest business alongside MASIC, both of which were founded in 2010. In comparison, Oman's WJ Towell & Co. stands as the oldest family firm, established in 1866.

Of the top 100 family-run companies in 2021, 32 are still chaired by the original founders or cofounders, and only three are headed by women: Mohsin Haider Darwish, headed by Areej and Lujaina Darwish; the Olayan Group, run by Hutham Olayan; and the Orientals Group, chaired by Yasmine Khamis.

To formulate this list, Forbes Middle East only considered businesses or holding companies that are jointly-owned or run by family members. Only Arab families were considered for the list. Listed companies were not considered to be family-owned businesses, but as investments of the family holding groups. We collected information from stock exchanges, reports from consulting firms and universities, and other primary sources. The ranking measured the company's holding size and performance, age, legacy and how diversified the business is in terms of sector and geography.

Country Breakdown
Saudi Arabia	36	Egypt	5	Lebanon	2
U.A.E.	25	Oman	5	Morocco	2
Kuwait	7	Qatar	5	Algeria	1
Bahrain	6	Jordan	4	Tunisia	1
		Yemen	1

Top 100 Arab Family Businesses in the Middle East 2021

1 | Olayan Group

Country: Saudi Arabia

Established: 1947

Sector: Diversified

2 | Mansour Group

Country: Egypt

Established: 1952

Sector: Diversified

3 | Majid Al Futtaim

Country: U.A.E.

Established: 1992

Sector: Diversified

4 | Al-Ghurair Investment

Country: U.A.E.

Established: 1960

Sector: Diversified

5 | Al-Futtaim Group

Country: U.A.E.

Established: 1930

Sector: Diversified

6 | Al Muhaidib Group

Country: Saudi Arabia

Established: 1943

Sector: Diversified

7 | Rashed Abdul Rahman Al Rashed & Sons Group

Country: Saudi Arabia

Established: 1950

Sector: Diversified

8 | Abdul Latif Jameel

Country: Saudi Arabia

Established: 1945

Sector: Diversified

9 | Assila Investments

Country: Saudi Arabia

Established: 2010

Sector: Investments

10 | Al Ghurair Group

Country: U.A.E.

Established: 1960

Sector: Diversified
Click here to view the complete list of the Top 100 Arab Family Businesses 2021.

Background Information

Forbes Middle East

Forbes Middle East has a license for copy rights and distribution rights in the MENA region from Forbes Media, U.S.A. Under the guidelines standardized amongst all Forbes titles, the magazine features analysis and expert reporting related to the finance and business world, as well as investment opportunities in the Arab region. Forbes Middle East puts together its lists based on the criterion of neutrality, authenticity, commitment to the methodology of scientific research, and the quality of standards set globally by Forbes through its extensive experience in this field.

Forbes Middle East also serves as a guide for businessmen and decision makers by providing them with information and statistics necessary for making the right decisions. Thus, the magazine becomes the guiding compass for investments in the region. Through its wide network of press correspondents the magazine also works toward covering all the economic fields and issues concerning the Arab region.