HH Sheikh Tahnoon Bin Zayed Al Nahyan

At 56, HH Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan stands at the nexus of global finance and artificial intelligence (AI), driving the UAE’s growing influence across both. He chairs a portfolio unrivalled in scale: Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) with $1tn in assets under management, MGX’s $50bn techfocused fund, AI powerhouse G42, Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company (ADQ), and First Abu Dhabi Bank. Few individuals globally wield direct control over more than $1.4tn in assets, surpassing even Saudi Arabia’s PIF.

This influence prompted the world’s most prominent business publication, The Wall Street Journal, to publish a major profile piece on Sheikh Tahnoon’s business reach in February this year.

ADIA is not only the largest sovereign wealth fund in the GCC but also ranks as the seventh biggest in the world, according to Global SWF. This concentration of capital, coupled with his role as the UAE’s national security advisor, brother to the president and deputy ruler of Abu Dhabi places him in a position of strategic and economic importance.

His influence, cultivated over two decades, has soared in recent years, particularly since 2024 with the launch of MGX, a fund driving significant investments in AI and technology. Just last month, MGX announced a landmark $2bn equity investment in the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance,highlighting the UAE’s growing clout in the digital assets space.

Under his chairmanship, G42 has secured major partnerships, including a $1.5bn investment from global tech giant Microsoft in 2024 aimed at advancing G42’s cutting edge AI capabilities. G42’s collaborations with OpenAI, along with strategic ties to Satya Nadella, Sam Altman, Tim Cook, and Elon Musk, underscore Sheikh Tahnoon’s role in shaping AI ecosystems.

His influence extends far beyond Abu Dhabi. Last month, Sheikh Tahnoon met with US President Donald Trump and top American business leaders to announce a $1.4tn UAE-US investment initiative over the next decade, focused on AI infrastructure, semiconductors, energy, and manufacturing.

Over his two-day stay in Washington, he also met with executives from Microsoft, Amazon, Palantir, Oracle, BlackRock, NVIDIA, and xAI, strengthening the UAE’s relationships with key tech and financial players. The move is widely seen as cementing the UAE’s rising status as a global power.

ADQ, under his leadership, recently executed a $35bn deal in Egypt’s Ras El-Hekma, acquiring $24bn worth of development rights while concurrently issuing a $2bn bond oversubscribed four times.

The fund further sealed a $25bn agreement with Energy Capital Partners to power data centres in the US, demonstrating Abu Dhabi’s expanding influence in the energy and tech sectors.

His leadership extends beyond board-rooms, reflected in his professional cycling, jiu-jitsu mastery, and intellectual pursuits.

His role on the Supreme Council for Financial and Economic Affairs further positions him as a chief architect of Abu Dhabi’s financial strategies.

We’ve introduced Sheikh Tahnoon as a new entrant at number one because of his quiet, yet commanding rise is reshaping the financial and technological balance of power.

In an age where AI is proving the most disruptive force of our lifetime, Sheikh Tahnoon stands at the centre of the UAE’s push to transform itself from an energy giant into a leading tech investor and innovator.