Death Of One Of The World's Richest Arabs Leaves Behind Messy Inheritance In Dubai

It was five months ago, in December 2021 when Dubai billionaire Majid Al Futtaim, who was one of the world¡¯s richest Arabs, passed away.

His shopping, entertainment and real estate empire, which included malls, grocery stores and luxury hotels, transformed and anchored Dubai¡¯s economy towards becoming a global tourism hub.

But ever since he died and left behind his huge empire, Al Futtaim¡¯s inheritance has been left unresolved.

10 People Have Claim On The Inheritance

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Ten people, including three wives, one son and six daughters, have claims on the estate, which was estimated to be worth $6.1 billion at the time of Al Futtaim¡¯s death, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

To oversee any potential disputes, Dubai¡¯s leader Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum appointed a special judicial committee, a relatively rare occurrence reserved for high-profile cases. The body is headed by Essa Kazim, chairman of the group that runs Dubai¡¯s stock exchange.

Besides this, a shareholder meeting is being arranged for nine family members after Al Futtaim¡¯s wife from Abu Dhabi transferred her holding to her daughters. None of the heirs apart from Tariq Al Futtaim, the sole surviving son and a board member since 2011, have played a role in the group.

¡°The company will continue to run as it has been running,¡± said Habib Al Mulla, the lawyer for son Tariq and his family, adding that Tariq¡¯s goal is to remain a board member. ¡°It had one owner, and now it has nine owners.¡±

There is a lot of work being done on cataloging, evaluating and distributing Al Futtaim¡¯s personal assets such as planes and boats in various locations. All told, the inheritance talks are likely to take at least a year, according to Al Mulla.

Under Islamic law, the only surviving son Tariq would end up owning the biggest single stake, as two other sons died in separate boating-related incidents. The exact distribution of the holdings between the shareholder groups hasn¡¯t been disclosed.

Nonetheless, it remains to be seen what lies ahead for this massive empire and assets of deceased billionaire Majid Al Futtaim.

More About The Empire and Inheritance

Al Futtaim founded the business in the 1990s with funds from a succession dispute with his cousin. His company was the first to combine shopping and entertainment, a formula that is being expanded to Cairo and Riyadh.

The Majid Al Futtaim Holding company reportedly controls $16.5 billion in assets including a renowned indoor ski hall, the opulent Mall of the Emirates and the Carrefour hypermarket franchise in the Middle East. It has activities in 17 countries, extending into Africa, as per a Bloomberg report.

Investors also hold some $3.7 billion in corporate debt.

Majid Al Futtaim group is now in transition to multiple owners and that process could lay the groundwork for more sweeping changes, according to people familiar with the discussions.

Options include selling parts of the group, an investment by a sovereign wealth fund and a public listing said the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private. No decisions are imminent, they said.

The process will take time as the family and the company seek to avoid disruption and the emirate looks to retain its reputation as a relative safe haven amid the geopolitical turmoil stoked by war in Ukraine.

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