Dh63 billion wealth: Telegram founder Pavel Durov is now UAE's richest person

Durov accounts for nearly 40 per cent of all of the UAE billionaires’ wealth.
Eleven UAE residents have been named among the world’s richest people in 2021 with two new entrants joining the league.
In all, they control a total of $43.4 billion (Dh159 billion) in wealth.
Pavel Durov, the founder and owner of messaging app Telegram, is the richest UAE resident with a staggering $17.2 billion (Dh63 billion) in 2021, according to Forbes’ list of billionaires released on Wednesday.
Durov accounts for nearly 40 per cent of all of the UAE billionaires’ wealth.
Ranked 112nd in Forbes’ richest list, Durov is the first UAE resident to be ranked among the top 200 billionaires.
Durov’s wealth grew exponentially recently after his messaging app Telegram, which has more than 500 million users worldwide, became popular after Facebook-owned WhatsApp announced new privacy policy.
As a result, Durov’s wealth has grown by over 405 per cent in a year from $3.4 billion in 2020 to $17.2 billion in 2021.
Others who made to the list include MA Yusuffali, Majid Al Futtaim & family, Abdullah Al Ghurair & family, Micky Jagtiani, Ravi Pillai, Hussain Sajwani, Abdullah Al Futtaim, Thaksin Shinawatra, Saket Burman and Sunny Varkey.
Below is the complete list of the UAE’s 11 richest people released by Forbes for 2021:
Pavel Durov
Wealth: $17.2 billion
Global ranking: #112
Source of wealth: Messaging app Telegram
Citizenship: Russia
MA Yusuffali
Wealth: $4.8 billion
Global ranking: #589
Source of wealth: Retail (LuLu Group)
Citizenship: India
Majid Al Futtaim & family
Wealth: $3.6 billion
Global ranking: #831
Source of wealth: Real estate, retail, etc.
Citizenship: UAE
Abdullah Al Ghurair & family
Wealth: $2.8 billion
Global ranking: #1111
Source of wealth: Banking, real estate etc.
Citizenship: UAE
Micky Jagtiani
Wealth: $2.8 billion
Global ranking: #1111
Source of wealth: Retail (Landmark Group)
Citizenship: India
Ravi Pillai
Wealth: $2.5 billion
Global ranking: #1249
Source of wealth: Construction
Citizenship: India
Hussain Sajwani
Wealth: $2.4 billion
Global ranking: #1299
Source of wealth: Real estate
Citizenship: UAE
Abdullah Al Futtaim & family
Wealth: $2.2 billion
Global ranking: #1444
Source of wealth: Automobiles, investments
Citizenship: UAE
Thaksin Shinawatra
Wealth: $2.0 billion
Global ranking: #1580
Source of wealth: Investments
Citizenship: Thailand
Saket Burman
Wealth: $1.8 billion
Global ranking: #1833
Source of wealth: Consumer goods
Citizenship: UK
Sunny Varkey
Wealth: $1.4 billion
Global ranking: #2141
Source of wealth: Education
Citizenship: India