You’ve probably seen the Google search engine logo replaced from time to time to celebrate some important holiday or anniversary. These illustrations are called “Google Doodles“.
Apparently for the UAE’s National Day today they did one:
Posts Tagged ‘UAE’s National Day’
Google Doodle in UAE
Thursday, December 2nd, 2010Richest Royals 2010
Thursday, December 2nd, 2010Back when we were in Dubai Forbes‘ annual list of richest royals was always a big deal (see Richest Royals).
Somehow it fell through the cracks this July, but luckily I just thought of it today (what with it being the UAE’s National Day today).
So here’s the article: “The World’s Richest Royals.”
Key quote:
No surprise then that Dubai’s Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum fared the worst. His fortune dropped $7.5 billion this year as his Dubai Holding crumbled under a $12 billion debt burden. This comes on the heels of last year’s loss of $6 billion, making him the biggest loser on Forbes’ annual list of the world’s 15 richest royals two years in a row.
To boot, Dubai had to ask for another handout from fellow emirate Abu Dhabi in December, to the tune of $10 billion. Abu Dhabi’s ruler, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahayan, though not as heavily indebted, also saw his fortune shrink for the second year in a row, down $3 billion as result of last year’s 40% decline in oil export earnings as well as double-digit declines in real estate and stock markets. He falls down a notch to No.4 on the list.
Here’s the list:
1 ) King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Thailand
Fortune: $30 billion (unchanged)
2 ) Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah, Brunei
Fortune: $20 billion (unchanged)
3 ) King Abdullah bin Abul Aziz, Saudi Arabia
Fortune: $18 billion (up)
4 ) Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahayan, United Arab Emirates
Fortune: $15 billion (down)
5 ) Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai
Fortune: $4.5 billion (down)
6 ) Prince Hans-Adam II von und zu Liechtenstein, Liechtenstein
Fortune: $3.5 billion (unchanged)
7 ) King Mohammed IV, Morocco
Fortune: $2.5 billion (unchanged)
8 ) Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Qatar
Fortune: $2.4 billion (up)
9 ) Prince Albert II, Monaco
Fortune: $1 billion (unchanged)
10 ) Prince Karim Al Husseini, Aga Khan
Fortune: $800 million (unchanged)
