BUSINESSPEOPLE from Saudi Arabia

Top 4

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Saudi Arabian Businesspeople of all time. This list of famous Saudi Arabian Businesspeople is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

1. Adnan Khashoggi (1935 - 2017)

With an HPI of 63.82, Adnan Khashoggi is the most famous Saudi Arabian Businessperson.  His biography has been translated into 27 different languages on wikipedia.

Adnan Khashoggi (Arabic: عدنان خاشقجي, romanized: ‘Adnān Khāshuqjī; 25 July 1935 – 6 June 2017) was a Saudi businessman and arms dealer known for his business dealings, extensive geopolitical influence, and opulent lifestyle, which earned him the moniker "The Great Gatsby of the Middle East." During his peak in the early 1980s, Khashoggi's net worth was estimated at around $4 billion, amassed through his pivotal role as an intermediary between Western defense companies and the Saudi government. Khashoggi was the founder of Triad International Holding Company, which held diverse investments worldwide, including in luxury hotels, oil refineries, and real estate. Known for hosting lavish parties attended by celebrities and politicians, Khashoggi's lifestyle made him a media fixture and inspired popular culture, even influencing songs by Queen and appearing in shows like Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.

2. Al-Waleed bin Talal (b. 1955)

With an HPI of 61.01, Al-Waleed bin Talal is the 2nd most famous Saudi Arabian Businessperson.  His biography has been translated into 33 different languages.

Al Waleed bin Talal Al Saud (Arabic: الوليد بن طلال آل سعود; born 7 March 1955) is a Saudi Arabian billionaire businessman, investor, philanthropist, and a House of Saud royal. In 2008, he was listed on Time magazine's Time 100, an annual list of the hundred most influential people in the world. Al Waleed is a grandson of Abdulaziz, the first king of Saudi Arabia, and of Riad Al Solh, Lebanon's first prime minister. Al Waleed is the founder, chief executive officer and 95 percent owner of the Kingdom Holding Company, a company with investments in companies in the financial services, tourism and hospitality, mass media, entertainment, retail, agriculture, petrochemicals, aviation, technology, and real-estate sectors. In 2013, the company had a market capitalization of over $18 billion. He owns Paris' Four Seasons Hotel George V and part of New York's Plaza Hotel. Time has called him the "Arabian Warren Buffett". In November 2017, Forbes listed Al Waleed as the 7th-richest man in the world, with a net worth of $39.8 billion. On 4 November 2017, Al Waleed and other prominent Saudis (including fellow billionaires Waleed bin Ibrahim Al Ibrahim and Saleh Abdullah Kamel) were arrested in Saudi Arabia, in a purge that the Saudi government characterized as an anti-corruption drive. The allegations against Al Waleed include money laundering, bribery, and extorting officials. Some of the detainees were held in the Ritz-Carlton, Riyadh. Al Waleed was released from detention on 27 January 2018, following a financial settlement of some kind, after nearly three months in detention. In March 2018 he was dropped from the World's Billionaires list due to lack of current information. He was listed in the 'Top 100 most powerful Arabs' from 2013 to 2021 by Gulf Business.

3. Mansour Ojjeh (1952 - 2021)

With an HPI of 48.36, Mansour Ojjeh is the 3rd most famous Saudi Arabian Businessperson.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Mansour Akram Ojjeh (25 September 1952 – 6 June 2021) (Arabic: مَنْصُور أَكْرَم عُجَّة, romanized: Manṣūr ʾAkram ʿUjjah) was a French Saudi Arabian-born entrepreneur who owned a part of TAG, a Luxembourg-based holding company with interests worldwide. Ojjeh was the CEO of TAG, which owned 14.32% of the McLaren Group, whose assets include McLaren Automotive and the McLaren Formula One team since the 1970s and 2000s. He was at one time the owner of TAG Heuer and Farnborough Airport. He also owned 10% of the upmarket jewellers Asprey and Garrard.

4. Ameera al-Taweel (b. 1983)

With an HPI of 39.27, Ameera al-Taweel is the 4th most famous Saudi Arabian Businessperson.  Her biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Ameera bint Aidan bin Nayef al-Taweel al-Otaibi (Arabic: أميرة بنت عيدان بن نايف الطويل العصيمي العتيبي; born 6 November 1983) is a Saudi Arabian philanthropist and ex-princess. Born into the Tribe of Otaibah, she became affiliated with the House of Saud after marrying al-Waleed bin Talal al-Saud in 2008. She was the vice chairwoman of the al-Waleed bin Talal Foundation, a charity in Saudi Arabia, for the duration of her marriage, which ended in a divorce in 2013. Ameera is currently a member of the board of trustees at Silatech, a youth employment organization in Qatar. She has been a long-standing advocate for Saudi women's rights.