Khalaf Al Habtoor’s father made his living buying and selling pearls. The son became a billionaire by buying and selling -- and building -- hotels.
The 62-year-old founder and chairman of Al Habtoor Group LLC in Dubai deployed his hotel, engineering and auto businesses to amass a fortune worth at least $2 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. In an interview in his office, decorated with photos of him with Queen Elizabeth II and former President Jimmy Carter, Habtoor put the figure at closer to $4 billion.
As Dubai emerges from a property crash that sent prices down more than 65 percent, Habtoor is now spending $1.3 billion on a complex located on the emirate’s main commercial strip. It will include three five-star hotels with more than 1,600 rooms, tennis courts, a garden, shops, restaurants and a theater.
No comments:
Post a Comment