LEGACY AND THE FUTURE

Family-owned businesses contribute 50 per cent of the GDP and 80 per cent of its workforce. They also account for 90 per cent of the companies in the UAE.

The Top 10 family businesses in the region employ 600,000 people and have a net worth of more than $31 billion.

Twenty-one UAE families were ranked among the Arab’s world’s 100 most powerful family businesses.

Around 87 per cent of the region’s family businesses are diversified, while the others specialise in one or two sectors specialise in one or two sectors including real estate, jewellery, FMCG, industrial, food and beverages, and retail.

Around 38 per cent of businesses are still chaired by the first generation, while 47 per cent are run by the second. A meagre 15 per cent are managed by third-generation or later.