EMPIRE BUILDING

Hussain Sajwani, Founder and Chairman of the DAMAC Group, has built a property empire and accumulated over $5 billion in wealth since establishing the group in 1982. As he continues to seek out new opportunities, he's also supporting the next generation as they follow in his footsteps.

- Hussain Sajwani

Look up at the U.A.E.'s city skylines, and it's hard to miss the names of the country's most prolific property developers blazoned across the sea of towers and skyscrapers. One such developer, DAMAC Propertiesthe real estate arm of the multifaceted DAMAC Group has delivered over 47,000 units in the Middle East and globally since it was established in 2002 and made its founder and chairman, Hussain Sajwani, a mogul in the process, worth $5.1 billion as of April 2024, according to Forbes.

The DAMAC Group today has a presence in more than 10 countries across the GCC, the Levant, the Middle East, Europe, Canada, Asia, the U.S., and the U.K., with businesses in real estate, facilities management, hospitality, retail and fashion, logistics, and data centers, as well as investments in capital markets and public equity. However, property remains the bulk of the group's business, with the majority of its profits coming from its real estate operations.

In 2013, DAMAC Properties became the first real estate developer in the U.A.E. to be listed on the London Stock Exchange, and in 2015, it was also listed on the Dubai Financial Market. However, it went private in March 2022, delisting at a valuation of $2.3 billion. According to Sajwani, the decision to delist was a strategic one, and the group currently has no immediate plans to relist. In 2023, DAMAC Properties reported revenues of over $2.4 billion and profits of $1.2 billion, compared to $816.5 million and $382 million in 2022, respectively.

In Q1 2024 alone, DAMAC Properties launched two new skyscrapers in Dubai-Sapphire and Altitude-and a new DAMAC Lagoon Views apartment complex.

As of December 2023, it had more than 30,000 units under construction, including a luxury resort in the Maldives, which will be run and operated by Mandarin International, and a luxury complex in Miami, designed by Zaha Hadid.