Top 100 Arabs 2024

38. Sheikh Sulaiman bin Abdulaziz Alrajhi

Co-Founder Alrajhi Bank

Origin: Saudi Arabia

Residence: Saudi Arabia

Sector: Finance

2023 Rank: 39

Sheikh Sulaiman bin Abdulaziz AlRajhi has steered Al Rajhi Bank into becoming the largest Islamic lender in the world. In March this year, it raised $1bn from the sale of a five year sustainable Islamic Bond or ‘sukuk’, according to bank documents seen by Reuters. The bank’s success story has been decades in the making as it was co-founded by Sheikh Sulaiman in 1957. Prior to the founding of the bank, Sulaiman worked odd jobs to make ends meet, including being a porter. Today, his banking empire has a distribution network of 514 branches in Saudi Arabia, 16 branches in Malaysia, 10 in Jordan and two in Kuwait. In 2011, he announced that he would donate most of his fortune to charity and transferred his nearly 20 per cent stake in AlRajhi Bank to a charitable endowment that bears his name.

Nayla Hayek

Mohamed Ali Al Shorafa Al Hammadi