The second-richest Arab in the world is an Emirati

Saudi Arabia's Prince Alwaleed bin Talal is still the richest Arab in the world, at US$18.7 billion. Yonhap News / EPA

Majid Al Futtaim has knocked Mohammed Al Amoudi into third place in the Forbes list of the world's richest Arabs.

While Saudi Arabia’s Prince Alwaleed bin Talal retains the No 1 slot with an estimated US$18.7 billion fortune, he is followed by the UAE retail billionaire behind the Mall of the Emirates.

The magazine estimates the Majid Al Futtaim fortune at $10.6bn after his eponymous privately owned group opened up new malls throughout the region.

"With a mild recovery in crude prices and the region's stock markets bouncing back from the lows of 2016, it has been a good year for the region's billionaires," said Khuloud Al Omian, the editor in chief of Forbes Middle East.

Despite an economic slowdown in Saudi Arabia, the kingdom still had the highest number of billionaires, with an aggregate net worth of $42bn, according to Forbes.

The kingdom also had the highest number of billionaire families, with an aggregate net worth of $25.7bn.

The Olayans topped the Arab family rich list, with $8bn worth of publicly-traded holdings, followed by the Alshayas and Abudawoods, who have a net worth estimated at $5bn and $4bn, respectively.

Founded in 1992, Majid Al Futtaim is the region’s biggest mall operator and employs 34,000 people.

It owns and operates 20 shopping malls and holds exclusive rights to the Carrefour franchise across 38 markets in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

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