Issam Al Zahid (No. 5)

	Net Worth	11.00 bn
	Age
	Source of Wealth	Alzahid Group of Companies
	Marital Status

 

Issam Alzahid is the chairman of the Alzahid Group of Companies. It got its start in 1951 under the banner Alzahid Construction, when it had a hand in smaller-scale planning of roads and other city infrastructure. Later it would be tapped to build the kingdom’s first coast guard stations.

By 1958 the company was in full swing, building everything from bridges to tunnels and flyovers — indeed much of the basic transport infrastructure upon which the kingdom still relies. Today, with offices located in Al Khobar, the diversified conglomerate has over 41,000 strong employees and has significant interests in mining, logistics, oil and gas, manufacturing, information technology, foodstuffs, retail and many other sectors.

Like the other members on the list, Alzahid has no plans to rest on his laurels. It has announced plans to increase international investments by 23 percent during the course of this year. The recession may have been unkind to others, but not to Alzahid; his group saw total domestic turnover rise 14 percent in 2009.

Today, the diversified conglomerate has over 40,000 employees and significant interests in mining, logistics, oil and gas, industry, manufacturing, IT, foodstuffs, retail and many other sectors.