DJ Khaled will not be welcomed in Palestine, according to cousin Fadie Musallet.
Speaking to The National, he states the Palestinian-American Grammy Award winning hip-hop artist's silence on the plight of his homeland during the Israel-Gaza war will not be forgotten by those enduring the onslaught on the ground.
Musallet's remarks come after he returned from what he describes as his monthly visits to the West Bank where his mother resides. “Khaled always wanted to go to Palestine, but I don’t think he can come there now,” he tells The National. “They are really hurt by the lack of support, they really feel like they have been let down.”
Musallet also shares that anguish. As an established event producer and social entrepreneur, he understands the risks celebrities face when commenting on the current war. But the scale of destruction and lives lost – more than 33,200 Palestinians reportedly perished in the conflict – are impossible to ignore.
"At some point there must be a stage where you have to ask yourself how much money is enough, you know what I am saying?" Musallet says. "And I know that Khaled is not afraid to use his important voice as he did before, during the Black Lives Matter protests. So what has changed now? We are all humans at the end of the day and when it comes to Palestine, we are talking about people that are our own blood.”
Attempts by The National to contact DJ Khaled for a response have been unsuccessful.
Musallet opines that reckoning is in store for those artists and entertainers who financially benefited from touring the region, yet remained silent during the conflict. He admits that he's personally reappraised some of his existing professional and personal connections within the entertainment industry in light of the conflict.
Taking names out of his contact book is a significant move for someone who has built his stature in part due to his stellar rolodex.
Ever since moving to the UAE eight years ago, he built a career as event manager and celebrity booker. He was also behind the team bringing the popular band Kiss for their record-breaking New Year’s Eve concert at Atlantis, the Palm in Dubai.
Musallet is also the founder of The Giving Family, a charity organisation serving meals to blue collar workers in labour accommodation in Dubai. He says their latest Ramadan campaign saw the organisation welcome more than 5,000 volunteers who served over 300,000 meals throughout the holy month.
That proximity to stardom coupled by a congenial low-key demeanour made him a compelling, if not enigmatic cast member during the first season of Dubai Bling in 2022.
"As someone who understands branding, I was not surprised at all that the show became a success. You can tell the Netflix guys knew what they were doing just by naming the show Dubai Bling," he says. "The show is a bit of click bait and I do feel they wanted me to, I guess, supply more drama in the show, but I just wasn't the kind of person to give them that."
Musallet says it was his mother, residing in the West Bank, who convinced him to leave Dubai Bling after its debut hit season.
"She wasn't a big fan and she was really brutally honest with me," he recalls with a chuckle. "She told me how she didn't send me to Dubai to cause drama on some TV show. So after the first season, she said 'well, that's enough of that'."
While the programme offers an entertaining, yet skewed version of the Dubai lifestyle, Musallet says Dubai Bling captures that entrepreneurial spirit coursing through the city. That sense of opportunity is what convinced him to move to Dubai from Miami and leverage his entertainment industry contacts to launch a successful career, and convinced celebrities to spend time in the UAE.
In what has to be one of the coolest gigs in the country, Musallet would often take the likes of LeBron James and Will Smith on tours of Dubai during their free time.
“I almost look at my job at times as a kind of entertainment concierge,” he says. “Oftentimes, these celebrities will only stay here for a day or two max so I try to create these itineraries that make them see different facets of Dubai, from the must-see attractions to places that only those who live here know.”
These include private visits to At The Top viewing deck at Burj Khalifa and the Museum of the Future and a desert safari, this is followed by a trip to Bur Dubai to sample the grilled dishes of Al Ustad Special Kabab, established in 1978, one of the oldest Iranian restaurants in Dubai.
“I took everyone there from Steve Harvey to Floyd Mayweather and they all love it,” he says. “And it is these things I take pleasure in the most because it does show this side of Dubai and the UAE, where it's cosmopolitan and people of all cultures live together with no issues, that is important…. It’s not just about the bling.”
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
BOSH!'s pantry essentials
Nutritional yeast
This is Firth's pick and an ingredient he says, "gives you an instant cheesy flavour". He advises making your own cream cheese with it or simply using it to whip up a mac and cheese or wholesome lasagne. It's available in organic and specialist grocery stores across the UAE.
Seeds
"We've got a big jar of mixed seeds in our kitchen," Theasby explains. "That's what you use to make a bolognese or pie or salad: just grab a handful of seeds and sprinkle them over the top. It's a really good way to make sure you're getting your omegas."
Umami flavours
"I could say soya sauce, but I'll say all umami-makers and have them in the same batch," says Firth. He suggests having items such as Marmite, balsamic vinegar and other general, dark, umami-tasting products in your cupboard "to make your bolognese a little bit more 'umptious'".
Onions and garlic
"If you've got them, you can cook basically anything from that base," says Theasby. "These ingredients are so prevalent in every world cuisine and if you've got them in your cupboard, then you know you've got the foundation of a really nice meal."
Your grain of choice
Whether rice, quinoa, pasta or buckwheat, Firth advises always having a stock of your favourite grains in the cupboard. "That you, you have an instant meal and all you have to do is just chuck a bit of veg in."
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
The biog
Hobby: Playing piano and drawing patterns
Best book: Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins
Food of choice: Sushi
Favourite colour: Orange
Essentials
The flights
Etihad (etihad.ae) and flydubai (flydubai.com) fly direct to Baku three times a week from Dh1,250 return, including taxes.
The stay
A seven-night “Fundamental Detox” programme at the Chenot Palace (chenotpalace.com/en) costs from €3,000 (Dh13,197) per person, including taxes, accommodation, 3 medical consultations, 2 nutritional consultations, a detox diet, a body composition analysis, a bio-energetic check-up, four Chenot bio-energetic treatments, six Chenot energetic massages, six hydro-aromatherapy treatments, six phyto-mud treatments, six hydro-jet treatments and access to the gym, indoor pool, sauna and steam room. Additional tests and treatments cost extra.
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
MATCH INFO
Juventus 1 (Dybala 45')
Lazio 3 (Alberto 16', Lulic 73', Cataldi 90 4')
Red card: Rodrigo Bentancur (Juventus)
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin
Director: Shawn Levy
Rating: 3/5
UAE gold medallists:
Omar Al Suweidi (46kg), Khaled Al Shehhi (50kg), Khalifa Humaid Al Kaabi (60kg), Omar Al Fadhli (62kg), Mohammed Ali Al Suweidi (66kg), Omar Ahmed Al Hosani (73), all in the U18’s, and Khalid Eskandar Al Blooshi (56kg) in the U21s.
