48. Bassam Alghanim

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48. Bassam Alghanim

Net Worth: $1.8 B

LAST YEAR: $1.7 B
CHANGE: 5.9%
AGE: 70
RESIDENCE: Bel Air
SOURCE OF WEALTH: Inheritance, investments

THE MONEY: As part of an agreement that dates to the 1970s, Alghanim and his brother, Kutayba, each inherited half of Alghanim Industries after their father Yusuf’s death, splitting control of the multibillion-dollar conglomerate. The company, one of the largest privately held companies in the Persian Gulf, was founded in 1932 and today employs more than 12,000 workers in 40 nations selling GM and Honda cars. The Kuwaiti billionaire’s most prominent recent venture is the company Bzam Management, which is buying and developing cannabis assets in British Columbia and Alberta.

THE BUZZ: Alghanim has always been media-shy, though he did make the headlines in 2009, when he filed legal claims against his brother for allegedly spearheading a hacking scheme against him. A PR rep for Alghanim’s cannabis venture told the Vancouver Sun in 2020 that the billionaire “preferred to stay out of the story” as a general course. He made the bulk of his fortune through inheritance and has maintained it through investments, having stepped away from his involvement in operations of Kuwait-based Alghanim Industries.

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