Today on our "World of the Elite" program, we host one of the most prominent figures in the Kingdom's business world: Sheikh Mohammed bin Issa Al Jaber (born in 1960). He was ranked first among Arabs on the 2013 list of Britain's richest people, according to the British newspaper, The Sunday Times. Sheikh Mohammed bin Issa Al Jaber is a Saudi investment figure and heads the Saudi "MBI" Group, which generates an estimated annual revenue of $1.7 billion, while its assets exceed $5 billion. The group employs approximately 9,000 people and operates in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE, Iraq, Europe, and the United States. It comprises three main companies: JJW Hotels and Resorts, Ajwa Food Industries, and Jadawel International Real Estate Development. The MBI Group recently acquired the British luxury hotel group Eaton, as well as the Kozu shopping center, the largest in Vienna, and the luxurious Schwarzenberg Palace in Vienna. This acquisition was made through JJW Hotels and Resorts. The Saudi group's resorts have increased its portfolio in the UK from 3 to 8 hotels, bringing its total to over 50 hotels worldwide. The Mohammed bin Issa Al Jaber Group also acquired Eaton Hotels & Resorts, with Mohammed bin Issa Al Jaber confirming that the group's expansion focuses on the luxury hotel market, where Eaton Hotels & Resorts has a strong position in this growing sector.
Last year, Sheikh Mohammed bin Issa Al Jaber, Chairman of MBI International, signed a major agreement with Patrick Balkany, Deputy Mayor of Levallois-Perret, a city on the outskirts of Paris. The agreement, valued at over €1 billion ($1.6 billion), covers the construction and ownership of two towers on the banks of the Seine River, near the La Défense business district. The towers will have a total built-up area of 125,000 square meters, including 85,000 square meters of office space and 33,500 square meters dedicated to a 400-room luxury hotel. The hotel will be managed by GGW, a partner in Sheikh Mohammed bin Issa's group, as part of the "Le Valois Towers" project. Sheikh Mohammed bin Issa stated that the new project represents the culmination of 20 years of investment in France, particularly in the hotel sector, and that it adds significant value to his companies' existing investments in France, which include 36 hotels across the country. Sheikh Mohammed bin Issa attributes his winning the project to the experience he gained since the first investments, considering that there is harmony between what his companies are doing in France and the new project, as the exploitation of the luxury hotel will intensify and diversify the offerings, while the offices are a continuation of the company’s presence in the infrastructure and in the services sector.
Al Jaber is ranked among the world's wealthiest businessmen and is known for his philanthropic work. Through his foundation, the MBI Foundation, he has provided numerous scholarships at some of the world's top educational institutions. He is the founding patron of the London Middle East Institute for Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). He has also made generous donations to the construction of new buildings for Dar Al-Hekma College in Jeddah and for Colwyps Christie College at Oxford University in the UK. Several lecture halls at UCL and other institutions bear his name, as do the Ajwa Group, one of the largest food companies in the Middle East, and Continental, an international oilfield services and petroleum resources management company.
