Biography
Mohamed Alabbar is considered one of the leading businessmen in the Middle East and driving force behind Dubai’s economic growth, with interests spanning fashion, property, leisure and commodities. His company Emaar Properties established Dubai’s Burj Khalifa as well as the Dubai Mall, which accounts for about half of the city’s luxury goods consumption.
The business and real estate mogul is also a stakeholder in Yoox Net-a-Porter group and developed the Armani hotel in Milan alongside the Italian fashion house. Alabbar has a degree in Finance and Business Administration from the Seattle University. He also holds an Honorary Doctorate from the university.
Alabbar is the chairman of Emaar Properties. The company, which has a presence in more than 80 countries, focuses on developing prime real-estate locations in the luxury and hospitality sector. Among his many roles he is also founder and owner of Alabbar Enterprises, a company that operates and invests in businesses in the Middle East, South East Asia and Africa, with a focus on luxury, fashion, retail and e-commerce.
He founded and remains a major shareholder of RSH, the Singapore-based pan-Asian marketer, distributor and retailer of international fashion brands. He is also the founder and chairman of Africa Middle East Resources (AMER), chairman of Tradewinds Corporation, a leisure and hospitality operator in Malaysia, and sits on the board on Noor Investment Group.
He also led two investor groups in buying a combined 16.45 percent stake in Dubai-based courier Aramex part of a plan to build an e-commerce platform across the Arab world. Mr. Alabbar was the founding Director General of Dubai Department of Economic Development (DED) and served as a member of the Dubai Executive Council and Dubai Economic Council.
In April 2019, Emaar Properties unveiled a property collaboration with Lebanese designer Elie Saab at Emaar Beachfront.