Manchester City Owner 'Mansour Family' Becomes World's Richest

Walton Family Ousted from Walmart Operations, Rises to No. 1 for the First Time
Al Nahyan Family's Net Worth Estimated at at Least $300 Billion

The image of Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who took office as the 3rd President of the UAE last May. Photo by Reuters·Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] The Al Nahyan family of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), to which Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, known as 'Mansour,' belongs, has become the richest family in the world.

On the 8th (local time), the British newspaper The Times reported, citing the latest Bloomberg data, that the Al Nahyan family surpassed the Walton family, which operates Walmart in the United States, to become the world's wealthiest family for the first time. The Al Nahyan family's net worth is estimated to be at least $300 billion (approximately 395 trillion KRW), while the Walton family's net worth is about $224.5 billion (approximately 296 trillion KRW), with a wealth gap of nearly 100 trillion KRW between the first and second places.

The Al Nahyan family rules Abu Dhabi, the largest of the seven emirates of the UAE. The UAE is a 'rich oil-producing country' holding about 6% of the world's oil reserves, but the Al Nahyan family's sources of income are diverse beyond crude oil. The family is known to have amassed enormous wealth through investments in various fields, including overseas sports clubs, real estate around the world, pop star Rihanna's lingerie brand, fast food businesses, and Elon Musk's SpaceX.

The family's assets include the English Premier League (EPL) football club Manchester City (Man City), owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, as well as 12 palaces including Chateau de Baillon north of Paris, France, and real estate in Berkeley Square, London, UK.

Among their possessions are at least three yachts, including the world's largest superyacht, Azzam. Bloomberg estimates the value of the yachts at $780 million (approximately 1.03 trillion KRW). However, the core is finance. The Royal Group, which employs more than 27,000 people across various fields including robotics, is known to have significantly increased the Al Nahyan family's wealth over the past 20 years.

The Times reported that the financial manager of the Al Nahyan family is Sheikh Tahnoon, who is the head of the Abu Dhabi fund ADQ, the largest bank in the UAE FAB, and a national security advisor to the UAE. Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the first president of the UAE and former ruler of Abu Dhabi, had six sons with his third wife. Among them, the eldest son, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, became the UAE's third president in May, the fourth son is Sheikh Tahnoon, and the fifth son is Sheikh Mansour. Mansour holds positions as the UAE Deputy Prime Minister, Chairman of the Central Bank, and head of the federal sovereign wealth fund, the Emirates Investment Authority, in addition to being a football club owner.