The collective net wealth of billionaires in the Gulf Cooperation Council states increased by 25 percent to $121.1 billion (AED444.74 billion) from $96.7 billion in 2007. The UAE is the only country in the GCC that has seen two new names being added to the list of billionaires, taking the tally to six. The total combined net worth jumped by 35 percent to $21.7 billion from $16 billion, according to calculations done by Emirates Business from the Forbes magazine's annual list of billionaires worldwide. Saudi Arabia topped the list of GCC countries with 13 billionaires with the combined wealth soaring to $77.7 billion from $64.6 billion. Kuwait continued to have four billionaires as collective wealth rose to $21.7 billion compared to $16.1 billion last year. Abdul Aziz Al-Ghurair and family led the list of billionaires from the UAE. Although he is ranked 100th in the world, down 14 places compared to last year, his net worth increased by 11 percent to $8.9 billion from $8 billion in 2007. Second on the list from the UAE is Majid Al-Futtaim, whose wealth has increased to $3 billion from $2.5 billion. He is ranked 368th by Forbes. Saif Al-Ghurair and family is a newcomer to the list, ranked 412, with a net worth of $2.8 billion. Al-Habtoor Group Chairman Khalaf Al-Habtoor has maintained a net worth of $2.5 billion, while Micky Jagtiani, another new entrant, is reported to have a wealth of $2.5 billion. Both of them are ranked 462. Net worth of Abdullah Al-Futtaim, according to Forbes, is down from $3 billion to $2 billion this year. He is now ranked 605 compared to 287 in 2007. Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, who tops the billionaire list from Saudi Arabia, has seen a marginal increase in his wealth this year. His net worth has risen to $21 billion from $20.3 billion. The magazine terms him as the most active and successful investor in the Middle East. The Forbes list shows wealth expanding in emerging markets around the globe, with Russia overtaking Germany as the second-richest country, and 70 percent of newcomers from Russia, India, China and the United States. In 2006, half of the top 20 billionaires came from the US. This year there were only four Americans. The son of Lebanese immigrants to Mexico, Helu amassed his fortune building Latin America's largest telecommunication carriers, Forbes said. Indian steel entrepreneur Lakshmi Mittal was fourth, and one of four Indians in the top 10. Mukesh and Anil Ambani, whose father founded the Reliance group of companies, were fifth and sixth on the list, and Kushal Pal Singh, who heads giant property developer DLF Limited, moved up 54 spots to eighth ranking with $30 billion. Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad was seventh with $31 billion, making him the list's top European, while Russia's richest man, Oleg Deripaska, was ninth with $28billion. Retired German supermarket mogul Karl Albrecht was 10th with $27 billion. __
