The Middle East's RICHEST BILLIONAIRES 2024

It's been a banner year for the mega-wealthy. Forbes found an unprecedented 2,781 billionaires around the globe for this year's World's Billionaires list-141 more than in 2023 and 26 more than the previous record, set in 2021.

- 

The super-rich are also richer than ever, with their combined wealth hitting $14.2 trillion-$2 trillion more than just a year ago and $1.1 trillion above the previous record, also set in 2021.

The Middle East billionaires' collective wealth amounted to $100.9 billion. Billionaires from Saudi Arabia were excluded from Forbes' global list for the seventh consecutive year.

Pavel Durov-the founder and owner of the messaging app Telegram-is the richest man in the Middle East, with a net worth of $15.5 billion in 2024, up from $11.5 billion in 2023.

Egyptian billionaire Nassef Sawiris is still the richest Arab in the world and ranked second in the Middle East after Durov, with a net worth of $8.8 billion. His wealth has risen by $1.4 billion compared to 2023, with one of his most valuable assets being a nearly 6% stake in sportswear maker adidas. He also runs OCI, one of the world's largest nitrogen fertilizer producers, with plants in Texas and Iowa.