Saudi nationals once again stood out as the second-largest group in Gulf Business‘ annual Arab Power list for 2021, with the number of entries tallying 20 this year. Leading from the front is the chair of the state-owned oil giant Saudi Aramco, while its CEO Amin Naseer also sat among the top five most powerful Arabs from the kingdom.

Lubna Suliman Olayan, the chairperson of Saudi British Bank and a trailblazer in her own right, made it into the top five rankings. Those on the list from the kingdom span across industries – from finance and energy to telecom.

1. Yasir Al-Rumayyan
Chairman, Aramco/Governor, PIF

Sector: Diversified
Overall rank: 1
2020 rank: 1

In what has been an incredibly tough year, one person who has been keenly investigating opportunities – backed by a massive pool of resources – is Yasir Al- Rumayyan, the governor and board member of the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF). The kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund – among the world’s largest with roughly $400bn in assets – has been frequently making headlines as it snaps up investments in diverse sectors including video games and fintech.

Al-Rumayyan has also pledged that the fund will invest $40bn annually in the kingdom to boost the economy. Also chairman of the world’s biggest oil producer Saudi Aramco, Al-Rumayyan confirmed last month that the company still intends to sell more shares following its historic IPO in 2019, when it sold less than 2 percent of its shares and raised $29.4bn. A close aide of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Al-Rumayyan also serves on the boards of Soft-Bank Group and Uber and chairs Sanabil Investments.

Source Credit: Gulf Business