Shoppers visit the Mall of the Emirates, one of Dubai’s main attractions.
Majid Al Futtaim—the Emirati billionaire behind a vast empire of malls, hotels and supermarkets in the Middle East and beyond—has died, Dubai’s ruler Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum announced on Friday on Twitter. His cause of death and age have not yet been made public.
Al Futtaim founded the retail and entertainment giant Majid Al Futtaim Holding, otherwise known as MAF, in 1992. According to its website, MAF owns 13 hotels and 29 malls, including the impressive Mall of the Emirates, one of Dubai’s key attractions, and the Mall of Egypt in Cairo. The firm also has an exclusive partnership as a franchisee for the French grocery chain Carrefour and runs more than 375 hypermarkets in 30 countries across the Middle East, Africa and Asia. It recorded $8.9 billion in revenue in 2020.
Majid Al Futtaim was initially tied to the Al Futtaim family business started during the 1930s, Al Futtaim Group. However, years of conflict within the conglomerate reportedly prompted the Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum to intervene in 2000, dividing the empire between Al Futtaim and his cousin, Abdulla, who owns Al Futtaim Group.
Al Futtaim ranked as the world’s number three richest Arab billionaire in 2021, according to Forbes. He and his family were worth an estimated $4.3 billion at the time of his death. Abdulla is also a billionaire in his own right, sharing an estimated $2.2 billion with his family, according to Forbes’ estimates. His company is the exclusive distributor of Toyota in the UAE, and also has the license to operate Hertz, Ikea, Toys “R” Us and Zara in the region.
Tributes began to pour in following news of Al Futtaim’s death. The sheikh praised him as a “pioneering businessman” and one of Dubai’s “greatest men who gave back to the nation,” pointing specifically to MAF’s recently announced plan to hire 3,000 Emiratis in the next five years.
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MAF released its own statement remembering Al Futtaim as a “visionary entrepreneur who transformed the face of business in the entire region.” “His lifetime achievements have been an inspiration for many,” the company said on Twitter.
