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Billionaire Arab business tycoon Majid Al Futtaim passed away on 17 December in Dubai. His death was announced by the company he founded in 1992 and which bears his name Majid Al Futtaim Group. The company he founded operates in 13 countries across the Middle East and North Africa, and has three main subsidiaries: Majid Al Futtaim Retail, Majid Al Futtaim Ventures, and Majid Al Futtaim Properties. He founded Majid Al Futtaim Holding in 1992. It expanded across the Mideast with malls and other ventures. It also runs over 375 Carrefour supermarkets and hypermarkets across Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on Friday, mourned the Emirati businessman Majid Al Futtaim. His Highness wrote on Twitter, “May God have mercy on our brother Majid Al Futtaim, the creative businessman, and one of Dubai’s most important merchants and senior men… a man of endless goodness and giving to the nation.” He added, “His latest decision was to hire 3,000 citizens… may God have mercy on him, rest him in peace and inspire his family and relatives patience and solace… Amen.”
A visionary entrepreneur and a truly exceptional man, he was credited with transforming the retailing experience in the UAE and more widely across the region, His extraordinary foresight and clarity of purpose not only set the company on the path to success, but greatly contributed towards the UAE’s global reputation for innovation and excellence. His company is the exclusive distributor of Toyota in the UAE, and also has the license to operate Hertz, Ikea, Toys “R” Us and Zara in the region.