Hussain Sajwani is both the founder and CEO of Damac Holding, the Middle East’s largest private sector luxury property developer. Sajwani started his career in the oil and gas industry, but in his heart, he was an entrepreneur. He left his cushy job after two years, and founded a conglomerate whose activities encompass property development, insurance, manufacturing, education, securities, investment and commercial trading. Damac Holding operates the largest catering company in the Middle East, the largest privately-held property firm in the Middle East, and is one of the leading insurance providers in Bahrain.
The company is mostly recognised for its luxury properties. Having taken full advantage of the GCC property boom, Damac has established offices in Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Iran, the UK, Ireland, Italy, Russia, Jordan, Lebanon, KSA and Qatar, and has operations in numerous countries including Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Jordan, Syria, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Damac, led by a relentless Sajwani, has not lost pace. Just last week, the real estate mogul said he would plow US$5bn into India. In last year’s rich list, we reported that the company was contemplating an IPO by 2009 when Damac expected to have a portfolio of projects worth US$13.6bn as opposed to the US$4bn it had at the end of 2006. Last week, Sajwani has made a slight revision to the plans.
The chairman still expects to go public in 2009, but he expects his portfolio to be worth US$45bn. There is no doubt that Sajwani will continue to rise on this list in the future.
Follow us on
