Powerful Families in UAE

The most powerful families in UAE control a substantial chunk of the economies of the seven emirates.

Powerful families in UAE are primarily branches of prominent tribes linked to the ruling families of the seven emirates by marriage or allegiance. In many cases, they play a dual role as senior government officials in addition to running their own businesses. They are active in investments, representation of multinationals, trading, real estate, banking, and hospitality. Notable mentions go to the families of Dhaheri, Futtaim, Ghurair, Hammadi, Ketbi, Khaili, Mazrui, Mansoori, Marzooqi, Muhairi, Owais, Nabooda, Qubaisi, Romaithi, Serkal, Shafar, Shamsi, Suwaidi, Tayer, and Zarooni.

Note: Since there is no standardized form of transliterating Arabic names into English, we have normalized family names to match the most widely used spelling.

For more on the merchant families of UAE check out this book on Amazon https://amzn.to/3bDlNXK