Source: Forbes Middle East

Hussain Sajwani founded residential real estate developer DAMAC Properties in 2002, taking advantage of a Dubai government decree that allowed foreigners to own property in the emirate. He saw non-Emiratis as the main apartment buyers.

After Sajwani purchased land in a then-undeveloped part of town, he managed to sell units in his first 38-story residential building in less than six months–before he started construction. Sajwani has since helped burnish Dubai’s image as a glittering destination. DAMAC teamed up with Donald Trump (beginning in 2013, long before he became president) to develop two Trump-branded golf courses. The Trump International Golf Course Dubai opened in February 2017 at DAMAC’s Akoya residential development, and the Trump World Golf Course, designed by Tiger Woods, is slated to open at a separate DAMAC development at the end of 2018. In a press conference soon after he was elected president of the U.S., Trump praised Sajwani, calling him “a very, very, very amazing man” who had just offered him a $2 billion real estate deal in Dubai that Trump said he had to turn down. Sajwani started out in the food service business, attracting clients such as the U.S. military and construction giant Bechtel. He still owns the food service firm.

#10 – Hussain Sajwani

• Net Worth: $3.7 Billion
• Age: 64
• Source of Wealth: Real Estate; Self-made
• Country of Citizenship: United Arab Emirates