Home Lists Top 100 most powerful Arabs 2023 This year’s power list honours Arab leaders driving and shaping growth in industry, sports, entertainment, and culture from across the region and beyond by Gulf Business April 18, 2023 The past 12 months have been truly momentous for the Arab world, from the building of some of the world’s most ambitious infrastructure projects to the hosting of two consecutive UN Climate Change Conferences (COPs) and a listing boom that saw Middle East IPOs fetching more than $18bn. The Gulf region remains relatively insulated from the confluence of a slowing global economy, geopolitical tensions and volatility in the financial markets, with real GDP growth expected to moderate from 6.1 per cent in 2022 to 3.4 per cent in 2023, according to the International Monetary Fund. The region is expected to deliver its strongest economic growth in a decade, underscoring the performance of sovereign wealth funds and accelerated investments in technology, sustainability, advanced industrial manufacturing and tourism. This year’s power list honours Arab leaders driving and shaping this growth. They range from astute business leaders to notable personalities in industry, sports, entertainment, and culture from across the region and beyond. Arabs reached new heights in 2022 from space exploration to summiting the tallest mountain in the world and topping entertainment charts. Our female power listers continue to shatter the glass ceiling in the boardroom and beyond. This year, we welcome 12 new entrants to the list – they have made their mark with exemplary contributions across various fields. We also have upward and downward shifts among the honour roll, with a few exiting the list. Read on to discover who made it to our list… 1. Yasir Al-Rumayyan 2. Dr Sultan Al Jaber 3. HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum 4. Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi 5. Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak 6. Amin Naseer 7. Carlos Slim Helú 8. Mohamed Alabbar 9. HRH Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud 10. Mohamed Al Hammadi 11. Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem 12. Sarah bint Yousif Al Amiri 13. Mansoor Ebrahim Al-Mahmoud 14. Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair 15. Abdulla Mubarak Al-Khalifa 16. Hana Al Rostamani 17. Mohammed Ibrahim Al Shaibani 18. Salem Humaid Al Marri 19. Lubna Suliman Olayan 20. Essa Kazim 21. Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak 22. Fahd Hamidaddin 23. HH Prince Naif bin Sultan bin Mohammed bin Saud Al Kabeer 24. Sarah Al Suhaimi 25. Mohammad Saud Al-Osaimi 26. Saeed Mohammed Al Ghamdi 27. Dr Raja Easa Al Gurg 28. Reem Al Hashimy 29. Mohamed Salah 30. Abdulrahman Saleh Al-Fageeh 31. Sultan AlNeyadi 32. Helal Al Marri 33. Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani 34. Elie Habib and Eddy Maroun 35. Ayman Mohammed Alsayari 36. Mohammed Abdul Latif Jameel 37. Khalaf Al Habtoor 38. Nayla Hayek 39. Sheikh Sulaiman bin Abdulaziz AlRajhi 40. Mohamed Ali Al Shorafa Al Hammadi 41. Olayan Mohammed Alwetaid 42. Mohammed Alshaya 43. Bader Nasser Al-Kharafi 44. Mohamed Mansour 45. Faisal Al Bannai 46. Hatem Dowidar 47. Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi 48. Karim Awad 49. Mohammed bin Mahfoodh Alardhi 50. Khalid Al Rumaihi 51. Nassef Sawiris 52. Akbar Al Baker 53. Naguib Sawiris 54. Adel Abdulla Ali 55. Jassim Alseddiqi 56. Aziz Aluthman Fakhroo 57. Mohammad A Baker 58. Mohammad Ali bin Rashed Lootah 59. Ala’a Eraiqat 60. Issam Kazim 61. Kutayba Yusuf Alghanim 62. Elie Saab 63. Abdulla Jassem Kalban 64. Mona Ataya 65. Ghaith Al Ghaith 66. Wadha Ahmed Al-Khateeb 67. Hesham Al Qassim 68. Sheikh Abdullah bin Bayyah 69. Badr Jafar 70. Mishal Kanoo 71. Amal Suhail Bahwan 72. Tarek Sultan 73. Khaled Mohammed Balama 74. Fadi Ghandour 75. Mazin Rashid Lamki 76. DJ Khaled 77. Mohammed Abu Ghazaleh 78. Dr Amina Al Rostamani 79. Shaikha Khaled Al Bahar 80. Ronaldo Mouchawar 81. Hussain Sajwani 82. Rayyanah Barnawi 83. Ons Jabeur 84. Munib Al Masri 85. Othman Benjelloun 86. Juma Al Majid 87. Lana Nusseibeh 88. Mohammed Al Amoudi 89. Zaid S Al Khayyat 90. Huda Kattan 91. Khalid Al Ameri and Salama Mohamed 92. Mona Almoayyed 93. Nouran Gohar 94. Nezha Hayat 95. Amr Diab 96. Rami Malek 97. Salwa Idrissi Akhannouch 98. Raed Barqawi 99. Reema Juffali 100. Nayla Al Baloushi End note: Gulf Business looked at the events of 2022-23 and rated each individual case on the basis of four criteria: financial capital, human capital, expansion plans and level of personal fame. In general, Gulf Business has excluded politicians and royalty, unless the contenders have a strong leaning towards business activity. We have included Arabs from across the world.