bank – the country’s fourth largest bank by assets – and one of the founding fathers of property giant
Emaar

, Abdulaziz Al Ghurair is perhaps the most high-profile of the Al Ghurair clan.

And
Mashreq

, which his father Abdullah Al Ghurair, chairman, started from scratch with $1.6m worth of investment capital 40 years ago, is Al Ghurair’s prime concern. The lender was the first bank to introduce ATM machines and credit cards to the Emirates, and now has its sights firmly set on new acquisitions to expand operations across the Middle East and further afield.

Today Abdulaziz is also Speaker of the House, Federal National Council, and a keen defender of UAE national identity. Just last month he told a gathering of foreign journalists that “national identity is very important to us and we will preserve it at all cost”.

He added that “the UAE is an open society, a progressive society and [one that will] coexist with the international community and at the same time maintaining our identity”.

Meanwhile, Abdulaziz’s uncle Saif is chairman of the Al Ghurair Group, which has been in business for over 40 years with expertise in retail, industry and manufacturing.

Al Ghurair Group owns and manages Burjuman Mall in Dubai, as well as Al Reef Mall in the same city. Abdulaziz’s brother Essa operates the second-largest flour milling company in the Middle East.